
















® O' 

* w* 

• fcS ^ ^ * 

v » *° • * ** 5.0 « * » 

* t '®^ ^ g^L 0 **^ 5 -* 

o 




A v«* ; 

4? ^ » 


^*0 

/ ^ 

* ^ °°^, a 0 . . ^ 

** ^ * ,jAV/kV :****• * 

^ ■ 


O N O 


A 9 
V* v 


* c_^» vP 

4 <,$> '(la, t 


<v ■<. -o .“? » .c^ 
’ % f o* 

* K &/????-> * v 0 • 

* ' 



41 V v> 




0 > 0 o«o i9 * 0 


° 4^ ^ 

' r 



1 C^ **\ 
♦ «?> ■ 0 

^ ^ .o v c ° w ° 


,' j. 0 . 

♦ ^ *«**. * 


cj CV *• rWZ V n J d» •> 

>*•»•*<** A? , . 

^ \/ ^ f ♦ o / o <0 ^ L.iw^ ^ ^ 



^0 

V °« - 



^ A v 9 
vv 


v C> • 
.* v * 


0 V 'o '■< 



<* £ * 


» ^ ** . 

; ^ v \ • 

' %• ... J? 


C$ 'JV 

■6 .$3 , “C<> * 

4 .V ^ % 


» ^3 

• *>*, 
* 4? ■ 


v> V}* /A *» 


'<$*» * O w 0 0 


**•’• A 0 <5> 

a0\^ V 
‘* <> «, , 

V\ v 


r o • » 


*3 O 

°0 A°‘ '<> **> W fl 

( m 0/ ^ .<y ,»•*',, v 

t °J 1 : v^ 

o \V^> o^Wv^ur % ^ 

* -v ^ -yjc^* 


® ,<b vP 

* V 

. . .--'** Jr ^b. V ^T1T"' A -o,*;- 0 

i ^/Xb2J> + V* C *^fVv^ O J k A*>A?9*^+ V^r w 


O' o 


^ o' 


'o V 


O' 


o ^5 °^ 

* ^ / «y O *+ *€€*-*- ri 

►, *•««* / % &t "'* $° 

*b V N *V°'_ . *.L!nL% ^ 


0^0 


■»- •> ' .Wa*. ^ c^ .‘^». *- 


v •*••- 


^ A v ♦ 

vv * 


C^> *P 0 - 

4/ ^ 

>v +. * 


% 


o 

*> A^ ° 

* <y & ° 






» cO 
* V ^ 




**b . t. . . "b 


<> ^O , A * ,0' 


^ * 


w 


* v o 

* ^> <t 


* s v* 

a 0 V . i » - 

.-/ tem 





” V* ."i 


> j»° -n*. • 


O *«»•«’* a 9 <?> 

(V s # * /■ *\> 

C*. aV ^ 


5 aT^ ^ 

? ° t^v. /v * 

^v’ « 




•3 *Cn 


o 

o A v^> ; 

* <V ^ °* 

s*^ a <> <6 

^ < 0 * ,.J^», °o 

^ ‘VSlfe. ^ ' ■ ' 


,s* / 

Q>* v . . 0^ c o«*, ”*o -A 

4 * %. «° ,v*S$W. ° -or *‘ 

o \ 

♦ .<1 ^ Q~* 

**’■•’ ,y ° 4 - 

V V f> * * O* C' A\ 

* <* c£ * 

%>A - 

^ :> 1 SPo aV* 





* ~V oa » 

* • . i * A? <S\ 

/ , » VL'* > 


* -€r <p* * 

4 ^ * 





* ^ ^ » 






r 4y & 

*> V * 





c* 

^ 4 

* 

, v ,<*. '•‘‘* / 

aVvT^'’’ T 7 V * 

N * &(U ///>-> , %*> <1 * 


c> ^ < r\ J ^ * 

A* °*. *"’• a 0 ... %, 




• ^ <& * 
: : 


3vr, 


o 

° ° 

* <y *p ° 


v *P ^ v 

^ a «*£* * _ 

^ V* ^ j. y ^ , 

° * 0 ^ ~ 2 * 
V * « * °* 

^ .'on'. ^ 

_ l 

z 




i\jj-> - 3 ^ ^ * 

^ a * /»3 ’ A <*“ "O » A 

* * .A V. -A 

e 1 1 * + .0 V 

'. ' „; w 
; * 


°^ * 9 * •* • A 0 ^ 

,, ^ ,o^ s s-v O 


• ^ . A*^ * 

° ^ 3 * 

,* ** % • 


; «5 

* s c\ Q 0 

°^ "’ A 0 ,.. , ^ 

\> V a < * O. \V S S liW 't ^ 


- 


O m k 


4^ • v . ♦ 

^ y-— - 


* A/ 

■• ^oK 


* ’Kp, 4 

< ^ <y 


V £ « 


- -a nr,-,. ^ 4 O 

V*. ^ SL ^ O S) «A vr 

^ <S^ C •, *»,1‘ A? -OHO' V' ~<U 

G> o M 0 <$ <2* C .Y’ • > x"v » » O. O 

■ •#> A .VvVa*- *+ & ^ ^ ♦>^' ?A ’ % 

.MEM " % ^ » ^ fflB ^ s - ' * 

„ V^* 1 * <0 U* J 

° x A y «$> °¥/TCr* ^3 'C 

S <^ > '"o • A * <G v -^ f ' • * 5 A v 

‘ ’ o , c ^4> ..... <!• ,o* .o »*. %, > 

r 0 o <-^5 ,*& * Vsr & • c s5XVV'h'fcL * ^ aM 


o ^ °rf. *. 

' K O 






5 w^.^!W ,v - 




























" • , • 



















I 





Mjcrij iTLLxrj AddVH V 



FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


STORIES OF ANIMALS 
AND CHILDREN 


BY 

MRS. HUNTINGTON SMITH 


GINN AND COMPANY 

BOSTON • NEW YORK • CHICAGO • LONDON 


COPYRIGHT, 1912, BY ANNA HARRIS SMITH 

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 


512.12 



\ 


*. 


9 

fc 

• € 
C • 
• • • 
♦ 


gEfte gltftenttiim egg 

GINN AND COMPANY • PRO- 
PRIETORS • BOSTON • U.S.A. 



o 


<0 CL A 3 3 2 0 0 3 


PREFACE 


The great need in this world is kindness. Let any one think for 
a moment, and he or she will realize that a large part of suffering 
everywhere comes either through active unkindness or from selfish 
disregard of another’s feelings. If children are carefully taught 
kindness and thoughtful consideration for every living creature, 
they are going to grow up to make the world better and happier. 
Lessing, the great German writer, said : " The man who has most 
pity is the best man — is the one most disposed to all social virtues, 
to nobleness of every sort. He who awakens our compassion 
makes us better and more virtuous.” 

The mother who teaches her child to feed the birds, to take 
good care of the family cat or dog, to pity the overdriven and over- 
laden horse, is going to reap a harvest of comfort and pleasure in 
her child in after years. The mother who teaches her child selfish- 
ness and hardness of heart by neglecting to feed the dog or the 
cat, by turning homeless ones away from her door, by putting a 
whip or a gun into the hands of her boy, is sowing the seeds 
of cruelty which will bring sorrow and pain to her and to others 
as the child grows up. 

The twenty-three stories in this volume have been written with 
the hope that they may impress on the minds of the young, and 
possibly of their elders, the beauty of kindness ; the happiness 
there is in a kind act, for kindness is reflective ; the capacity that 
all these lower animals, as we call them, possess for pleasure or 


VI 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


pain, and their value to us as friends and devoted companions. 
Children will often be impressed by a story and remember it 
when advice or a reprimand would be forgotten. 

If we can teach the young the duty of thoughtful kindness, 
we are benefiting not only the family but the neighborhood, 
the city, the state, and the country. Kindness uplifts the world, 
and only through kindness shall we ever reach true civilization 
and Christianity. 


ANNA HARRIS SMITH 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Four-footed Friends i 

Our Dog Tramp io 

Queer Friends 17 

Beauty’s Story 23 

Harold’s Dream 28 

The Lost Twins 35 

Willie’s Prize 40 

Freddie’s Birthday 47 

Down the River 53 

The Grocer’s Boy 62 

The Stolen Nest 68 

Mollie’s Flight . . 75 

Old Billy’s Christmas 84 

Doctor Kitty 92 

"Old Watson’s” Valentine 100 

A Happy Thanksgiving 109 

Jocko’s Mission 117 

Bertha’s Choice 124 

Francesco’s Sacrifice ...130 

Henry and Janet 139 

A Christmas Party 146 

The Adventures of Kitty Gray 155 

A Christmas Stable 164 

vii 


















. 















♦ 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

A Happy Little Flock Frontispiece 

Hector and Dixie 

Dot and her Lamb 4 

The Beautiful Kitten 5 

Jenny and Neddy 6 

Winifred feeding the Geese 8 

Our Dog Tramp 1 1 

Old Mother Speckle 17 

Queer Friends 21 

Beauty, the Handsome Cat 23 

Harold and Prince 28 

Snowball 29 

The Dog that was chained 30 

The Little Girl and her Kitten 32 

Deserted Kitten 34 

Milly’s Twins, Patty and Gray 35 

Willie’s Prize 40 

Flossie . 42 

Freddie and Nero 47 

The Runaway Boat 53 

Jonathan, Mrs. Baxter’s Companion 58 

The Grocer’s Boy 62 

A Nest with Four Pretty Eggs 69 

Mollie with her Friend Gypsy 75 

Taking Old Billy out of Harness 85 

Robert’s Pony 88 

Old Billy enjoying a Summer Day in the Fields 90 

Kittikins and her Babies 94 

Toodles 95 

ix 


X FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 

PAGE 

Tommie . ioo 

The Thanksgiving Guest Ill 

Jocko 1 17 

Dolly Scratchett’s Family 125 

Peg 128 

Neddy and Francesco’s Uncle 13 1 

Neddy with his Friends 137 

On the Farm 140 

Henry, Janet, and Prince 14 1 

Goldie 143 

Skippy 145 

Fairy 148 

Kitty Gray 157 

A Deserted Cat .... 160 

Poor Kitty Gray 161 

Entering the Home of Rest . 164 

Black Beauty and Little Fanny 165 

Robin 167 

Billy 168 

Prince 169 

Good Old Bobs 170 

" I help,” said Fido 171 

" Christmas means Peace ” 172 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 

W HEN Mrs. Hammond told her neighbors that 
she was going to live on a farm with her Uncle 
Henry, they said that she would be lonesome away from 
all her friends. They said that her children, Winifred, 
Henry, Mary, and Dot, would miss their playmates, for 
there were no children near her uncle’s farm. 

Mrs. Hammond smiled and answered that there would 
be four-footed friends and feathered friends, and that the 
children would be quite happy with them. 

Mrs. Hammond had a good watchdog named Hector. 
Hector went with them to the farm, and before he had 
been there a week, he had learned not to chase the hens 
or chickens. He even let Dixie, a pet pigeon, light on 
his back and ride around the yard. 

Dixie was the first friend that Mrs. Hammond made. 
She found him on a low tree, caught by a piece of string, 
when she was walking with the children in the field. She 
cut the string and carried the pigeon home. He was 
nearly dead with hunger, so she fed him ; then she made 
a little bed for him in a basket. In a few days he was 


2 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIEND'S 



Hector and Dixie 

quite well and flew in and out of the house. He would 
not go far away, but coaxed other pigeons to come and 
live there. In a short time there were four or five pretty 
pigeons to feed and care for. 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


3 


One day a neighboring farmer gave Mrs. Hammond 
a present of four young geese. They grew very fast, 
and after a while they had a flock of geese, which 
Winifred, Mrs. Hammond’s oldest daughter, took care 
of and called hers. 

Every few weeks droves of sheep went by the farm. 
Mrs. Hammond always pitied them because they looked 
so hot and thirsty. She talked with Uncle Henry about 
them, and he put a watering trough by the roadside so 
that the sheep could stop and drink and so rest a little. 
She put a bright new dipper where the drover could 
see it and get a cool drink for himself. 

One day, after a flock of sheep and lambs had passed 
by, Mary, Dot, and Hector were out in the road, when 
Mary saw something white on the side of the road near 
the watering trough. She found that it was a lamb, but 
it lay so still that she thought it must be dead. 

Dot ran to the house to call her uncle, who hurried out 
to see what was the matter. The lamb was alive, though 
not able to stand up. Uncle Henry carried it in his arms 
to the shed and fed it with warm milk. Then he made a 
bed of soft hay for it. 

Mary, Dot, and their mother sat by it until it seemed 
much better; then they fed it again. They took such 
good care of it that in a few days the lamb was well 
again. It followed Dot everywhere, so they all called it 
" Dot’s lamb.” 



FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


The children were afraid that when the drover went 
by again he would want to take the lamb away, but he 
said: "You have saved its life. It was sick, and I did 
not notice that it was left by the roadside. You deserve 

to keep it.” 
Mrs. Ham- 
mond then 
replied that 
they would 
be very glad 
to keep any 
lambs that 
were sick or 
tired, so once 
in a while 
the drover 
picked out 
one of the 
weakest of 
his flock and 
left it at the 

farm, until Mrs. Hammond had a flock of her own. The 
good care , she gave them made them grow strong and 
healthy. 

Before long, people heard of the kind lady and her 
children who welcomed any tired, hungry creature and 
gave it help; so a number of birds and animals were 


Dot and her Lamb 




FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


5 


brought to them. A boy who drove a grocer’s wagon 
brought a little robin that had fallen out of its nest. An- 
other boy brought a wounded crow, and a man brought 
a baby squirrel that he had found in the woods. These 
helpless creatures all 
got well and strong in 
a few weeks, and as 
soon as they were able 
to take good care of 
themselves, they were 
given their liberty. 

Mrs. Hammond did 
not think it kind to 
keep birds or animals 
in confinement. 

A woman who came 
to work on the farm 
brought them a beau- 
tiful kitten, and they 
were all delighted with 
such a lively little playmate and took good care of it. 

Uncle Henry went every week to the market where 
there were live animals sold, such as horses, cows, sheep, 
and pigs. One market day he got home late. It was 
quite dark when they heard him driving into the yard. 
He stopped at the barn to feed his good horse and 
make him comfortable, and then he came in, smiling. 



The Beautiful Kitten 



6 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


" You never can guess what I have brought home for 
you to-day,” he said to the children, as he sat down to 
the supper table. 

" Oh, please tell us, Uncle Henry,” Mary cried; "I 
can’t wait until morning. Is it another lamb, or a rabbit ? ” 

" I shan’t 
tell you to- 
night,” he 
said, " I had 
rather sur- 
prise you in 
the morn- 
ing, but you 
may try to 
guess if you 
like.” 

Winifred 
guessed that 
it was a pony, 

because she wanted one so much. Then the children 
guessed that it was a dog, a kitty, a hen, a bird, a little pig, 
but Uncle Henry shook his head to all of these guesses, 
and said that they must wait until morning to find out. 

Before breakfast the children ran out to the barn. 
Uncle Henry was all ready for them, and when they saw 
what was standing just outside the shed, they screamed 
with delight. It was a donkey with a dear little baby 



FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


7 


donkey. They were standing quietly together, looking 
at the children with soft, inquiring eyes. 

" Oh, how dear they are ! May I touch them ? ” asked 
Mary. She asked this because her mother had taught her 
to be careful about putting her hands on strange animals. 

'"Animals are timid with strangers,” Mrs. Hammond 
had said. " If a dog thinks he is going to be struck or 
hurt, he may use his teeth, and then he is called cross. 
A cat may scratch when startled by a sudden pat. Some 
horses will bite if touched suddenly. So it is best to be 
careful and very gentle with all animals.” 

Mary waited until her uncle told her that the little 
donkeys were quite gentle and that if she went up to 
them quietly they would not be afraid of her. She put 
her arms around the baby donkey’s neck, and he rested 
his head on her shoulder as if he liked being petted. 

The mother thrust her soft nose into Mary’s hand, 
and Uncle Henry said that she was looking for sugar. 

"Are they named ? ” Mary asked. 

"Yes; the mother is Jenny and the baby is Neddy. 
They were brought to the market to be sold, by a 
woman who was going away and could not take them 
with her. She was fond of them and afraid that some 
one would get them who would not treat them well. 
Then I told her about you and how you all loved your 
four-footed friends. She begged me to take them — so 
here they are.” 


8 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 



" I will be very good to them and love them dearly,” 
said Henry and Mary. 

Mrs. Hammond heard them, and she laid her hand on 
Mary’s shoulder and on the baby donkey’s head. " That 
is right,” she said. "It is love they need. If there were 


Winifred feeding the Geese 

more love in the world for our four-footed friends, it 
would be better for them and for the people who own 
them.” 

"We have a lot of friends now,” said Mary, "and I 
love every one of them. I think it is beautiful to live 
on a farm.” 

" So do I,” said Winifred and Henry. 



FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


9 


" There is no place like the country for children,” said 
Uncle Henry, “ and I thought you would not be lone- 
some here. You will never find more faithful friends 
than your four-footed ones ; yet they are often neglected 
and forgotten by some people ” 


OUR DOG TRAMP 


OMING home from school one day I found Tramp. 



I should n’t have noticed him if I had n’t come very 
near running him down with my bicycle. 

" Well, this is strange ! ” I said. " A big dog like you 
ought to be able to get out of the way. Y ou have actually 
made me get off my bicycle.” 

Then I looked more carefully at him and saw that he 
was dusty and lame. He was so thin and weak from 
hunger that he could not move quickly. 

" Come on, old fellow,” I said, " I ’ll take you with me. 
Mother would never forgive me if I left you starving on 
the road. Come on.” I patted him on the head, and he 
looked up at me in a pitiful way. It almost seemed as if 
he had tears in his eyes. 

I mounted my bicycle and whistled to him to follow. 

It was plain that there was not much life left in him. I 
had to get off my bicycle many times to help him. If it 
had not been for water in the brook and some sand- 
wiches left in my school bag, I think I should never have 
got him home. After the lunch we started for home. 

As I was going up our driveway, father came riding 
home from the mills on black Sally. 


IO 



Our Dog Tramp 


i i 









12 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


He stopped long enough to say, " Where did this dog 
come from ? Another stray one, I suppose.” 

I took Tramp to the stable and made him a bed in the 
corner of the carriage house. There I carried him some 
soup and bread. He could not eat much, but he looked 
up into my face and licked my hands, as if he wanted to 
thank me. 

1 rubbed oil on his lame leg and left him. He did not 
stir from that bed for three days. We all grew very fond 
of him. Father had a large dog house built for him, and 
I put a flagpole on it. 

Mother never felt afraid to be left alone after Tramp 
came, and she let him go in and out of the house as 
much as he liked. 

I was on my way home from school one day when I 
saw a dog that looked just like Tramp following a ragged, 
dirty-looking boy about my size. 

I had a whistle that Tramp knew, so I whistled and he 
turned and came toward me. Sure enough, it was Tramp. 

Then the boy whistled and called "Jack.” Tramp 
went back toward him. Then he stopped and looked 
at me. 

I went up to the boy and said, " What are you doing 
with my dog ? ” 

" He isn’t your dog; he’s mine. He is my Jack,” he 
answered. As he spoke he went up to Tramp and put 
his hand on the dog’s head. 


OUR DOG TRAMP 


13 


" He isn’t yours. He’s my dog Tramp. I ’ll leave it 
to all the boys to decide,” I said. 

The boy looked as if he did n’t know what to do. By 
this time I was close to him, and I saw how unhappy he 
looked. He seemed to be making up his mind what to 
do. At last he spoke, " If the dog knows me and follows 
me, you can tell whether he is mine or not.” 

He called " Jack ” and started off. The dog followed 
until I whistled and called " Tramp.” Then he stood 
still and looked first one way and then the other. At 
last he sat down in the street and whined. 

" Look here ! ” I called to the boy. " Come back and 
talk it over. Did he run away from you before I found 
him, or did some one steal him? He must have been 
yours once. He does n’t take to strangers.” 

" No, Jack never liked strangers,” the boy said. 

" Well, what are you going to do about it? ” I asked, 
with my hand on Tramp’s head. " I have had him more 
than a year, and we are all very fond of him. Father 
has built him a dog house, and I don’t know what we 
should do without him now.” 

The boy looked at me and said: " You have a father 
and mother, a home and friends, but I have only Jack. 
We always were just like brothers. We kept together 
until they took me away from him. Many nights I have 
cried for him, for I thought he would die without me. 
I never expected to see him again, and I am so glad.” 


14 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


He patted Tramp and laid his cheek down on the 
dog’s big head. " He looks fine,” he said. " I ’ve never 
seen him fat like this. I did n’t know him at first ; but 
he knew me. He has remembered me more than a year.” 

I saw tears drop on the dog’s head, and the boy drew 
his coat sleeve across his face. 

" That ’s a handsome collar ! I always wanted to get 
him one, but I could n’t get him anything but a strip of 
old leather tied with a string. Did you say he had a 
house — a real dog house ? ” 

" Yes,” I answered, "and I guess he will miss it some 
if you take him away. Have you a good home for him ? ” 

The boy’s face grew so red that I wished I had not 
asked him. He answered very low, " I have n’t even a 
home for myself.” 

" Then why do you want to take him away from me 
when he is so happy? If you care for him, I shouldn’t 
think you would want him to go half starved. And you 
have no home for him,” I urged. You see I wanted to 
keep Tramp for myself. 

" All right,” he said, trying hard to keep from crying. 
" You keep him. I did n’t think he would be alive now. 
I won’t take him from such a good home. I ’ll go along. 
You hold on to his collar, and if I don’t call or whistle, 
he will understand. He is a bright dog, Jack is.” 

He started, but turned back again to say good-by to 
the dog. He could not speak, because he was crying. 


OUR DOG TRAMP 


1.5 


I felt so sorry for him that I said, " Come home with 
me and see the dog house, and my mother. Perhaps 
father or mother can get some place around here for 
you. Then we can take turns having Tramp.” 

The boy looked at me to see if I meant it. 

" I guess your mother won’t like it if you take me 
home with you.” 

" Like it ! You don’t know my mother. She won’t like 
it if I don’t bring you home, when she hears about you 
and — Jack.” 

I said " Jack ” to please him. He looked at his hands 
and clothes and said, " I washed my face and hands in a 
brook this morning, but I am afraid I’m not very clean.” 

" Come on,” I said, " you can wash again at my house.” 

So we started home, Tramp running before us as 
happy as if he understood it all, and I think he did. 

On the way the boy told me that his name was Henry 
Marvin. He had been getting odd jobs to do for two 
months, and had slept in barns or under trees. All this 
time he had been looking for Jack. But he did not tell 
me that he had had nothing to eat all day. 

Mother and father were on the porch and saw us com- 
ing, and mother asked Henry to sit down. Father and I 
went to the barn together. 

After a while mother called father, and he had a talk 
with the boy, while mother got a bowl of bread and milk 
for him. 


1 6 FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 

As soon as he had eaten it, father took him to the 
stable, and mother said to me : " I am glad you brought 
that poor boy home, Robert. He is in need of friends. 
Your father is going to give him work in the mill, and 
I will give him some of your clothes.” 

After he had been with us about a year, a fellow who 
used to know Henry came to the mill to work. He called 
Henry " a good-for-nothing tramp.” 

When I told mother, she said that Henry lost his 
father and mother when he was very young. He had no 
home and no one to care for him, so after a while he was 
sent to a school for boys. When they sent him to this 
school, he begged to take his dog with him, but they 
only laughed at him. He worried about Jack all the 
time he was in the school, and when he left, he began 
hunting for him. He says he never was so happy in 
his life as when he found Jack. 

Henry has been with us for three years, and we are all 
very fond of him. He is like a brother to me. 

Our Tramp is getting fat and lazy, but he is as good 
and as happy as ever. He likes to stay in the house with 
mother, or to go about with either Henry or me. He 
seems to love us both alike, and I don’t know which of 
us loves him the best, we are both so fond of him. 


QUEER FRIENDS 


O LD Mother Speckle was the proudest hen you 
ever saw, for she had twelve chickens. Every 
egg hatched out. She had been very much afraid 
that one would fail, so when she saw one, two, three, 
and so on up to a dozen, she was filled with joy. She 
made such a clucking about it that it drove the other 
hens wild. 

Mother Speckle 
was confined in a 
little house which 
was built on pur- 
pose for her and her 
children. It had a 
nice latticed door 
through which she could get plenty of air and sun, and 
watch her chickens, and call them back if they ventured 
too far away from her. 

At first the chickens were little yellow fluffy balls, but 
as they grew larger, Mother Speckle discovered that one 
of them was speckled all over with black spots. The 
others were white, or had only a few gray feathers here 
and there among the white. 



Old Mother Speckle 


l8 FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 

As soon as she noticed this, she began to be cross to 
little Speckle, and all the chickens followed her example 
and treated him unkindly. 

One evening when the sun was going down, Mother 
Speckle called her chickens together as usual. They 
came hurrying into the little house and began to crowd 
under their mother’s warm wings. 

Now it isn’t easy for a hen to cover twelve growing 
chickens with her wings, and that night Mother Speckle 
and her children had a particularly bad time. 

The little chicks peeped and picked at each other. 
Some flew on her back, then tumbled off again, and 
peeped louder than ever. Some put their little heads up 
into her face, and between her wings and her back until 
Mother Speckle began to be cross. Just then little 
Speckle, who had been crowded out by his selfish 
brothers and sisters, began to complain. 

" Peep, peep,” he cried, " I want to get under, too. 
I ’m cold.” 

Then old Mother Speckle lost patience and showed 
what an unkind mother she was. She gave two or three 
pecks at little Speckle and screamed out : " Go away, 
you ugly little thing ! Go to the black hen. I don’t 
believe you belong to me at all.” And all the little 
chickens peeped out, " Go away ! Go away ! ” 

Poor little Speckle ! What could he do ? He stole 
out into the long grass, hoping that it would hide him 


QUEER FRIENDS 


19 


from prowling cats and dogs. He missed the warm 
covering of his mother’s feathers, and he was cold, lone- 
some, and unhappy. 

He peeped a few times, but he soon stopped, for he 
thought he heard something coming. His little heart 
beat fast, and he hoped the creature, whatever it was, 
would not hear him. 

It came nearer and nearer, and stopped just where 
Speckle was hiding in the grass. Speckle looked up, 
and saw, to his great terror, a kitten sitting down 
looking at him. When he noticed what a small kitten 
it was, he ventured to look into its face and peep again. 

" What are you doing out here in the grass ? ” asked 
the kitten. " I think a small chicken like you ought to 
be under its mother’s wing.” 

" My mother has driven me away because I am so 
ugly,” replied Speckle, trembling with cold and fright. 

" Oh, dear ! ” said the kitten, " that is very bad. But I 
know how to pity you, for I have been taken away from 
my mother and three little brothers and sisters. It was 
only yesterday that they brought me here, but it seems a 
week ago. Last night they shut me up in the barn, but I 
ran out to-night after I had my supper, and I don’t know 
how to get in again.” 

Little Speckle didn’t know what to say, only that 
it was too bad, and he hoped that the kitten was n’t 
very cold. 


20 FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 

" Why, no,” the kitten said, " I am not so cold as I am 
lonesome; but if you are cold, I will lie down here with 
you in the grass. I think you will find my fur as warm 
as your mother’s feathers.” 

So saying, the little kitten stretched herself out in the 
grass, and the chicken cuddled close to her, with his head 
in her fur. Very soon both the kitten and Speckle were 
fast asleep. 

When morning came they were awakened by the sun 
shining on them. The kitten jumped up so quickly that 
she almost trod on the chicken, but Speckle hopped out 
of the way. Then they both stood still and looked at 
each other. 

" I am hungry, and I think it must be near milking 
time,” said the kitten. " You come to the barn with me, 
and I will give you some of my breakfast.” 

The forlorn little chick was only too glad to have such 
a kind friend, and he ran after the kitten as fast as he 
could go. 

The barn doors were wide open, and the farmer’s boy 
was milking the cow. He saw the kitten come in, and 
said to her kindly, " Now you wait till I get through 
milking and I ’ll give you some breakfast.” He did not 
see the little chicken behind the kitten. 

When he had finished milking he took a tin pan 
from a shelf and poured it full of milk; then he called, 
" Kitty, Kitty.” 


QUEER FRIENDS 


21 



To his astonishment not only the kitten came to the 
pan, but a small speckled chicken began to drink with 
the kitten. 

" Well, well! ” was all that he said; but he ran into 
the house as fast as he could go, leaving his pail full of 
milk on the barn floor. 


Queer Friends 

In a few minutes the whole family were there to see 
them. The kitten and little Speckle didn’t seem to 
notice them, but went on drinking their milk together. 

" It is one of old Speckle’s chickens, I am sure,” said 
the farmer. " How did it get in here with that kitten? ” 

" Shall I carry it back to the old hen, father ? ” said 
the boy. 


22 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


" No, I think we will let it stay with the kitten, for I 
noticed old Speckle picking at it yesterday. This little 
chick looks just like his mother, and she seems to be 
cross about it. Give them a good breakfast, boy. Put 
some bread in Kitty’s milk, and little Speckle can peck 
at that. I should say that this chick had made up his 
mind to leave the old hen and adopt the kitten for his 
mother.” 

And so it seemed, for the kitten and the chicken be- 
came constant companions. Where Kitty went, Speckle 
followed. They ate together, but if any other chicken 
came near their pan of milk, the kitten drove it away. 
They slept together in the barn, and they even played 
together. 

The chicken would pick at the kitten’s long tail, and 
the kitten would catch him softly in her paws and let 
him go again. 

So the two lonesome little ones found comfort in each 
other, while the farmer’s family enjoyed watching this 
queer friendship. 


BEAUTY’S STORY 


F IRST, I had better tell you how I look, for I believe 
I am called a very handsome cat. I am large, and 
my fur is a beautiful yellow and white. My eyes, they 
say, are sometimes yellow like my fur, and sometimes 
almost green. I have a beautiful tail which I wave 
proudly, and my paws are white, clean, and dainty. 

I am a 
very quiet 
cat and do 
not care to 
go roving 
about, but 
I like an 
easy -chair 
by the fire. 

Sometimes 
when it is 

not very cold I curl up in the barn doorway or in some 
sunny corner. In summer I have a cool shady place 
under a bush in the garden. 

Often when I lie dozing in the sun, dreaming that I 
have caught a fat mouse, my little mistress comes along 



Beauty, the Handsome Cat 



24 FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 

crying out, " Oh, here is my clear little Beauty ! ” She 
seizes me in her arms and dances about with me until I 
am almost dizzy. I never try to get away from her, for I 
am too fond of her to struggle ; but I don’t like to have 
my . naps disturbed, and I never like to be squeezed. 

That is one of my trials, and another is my food. I 
ought to be fed regularly, but my little mistress forgets 
me. Sometimes the cook is in a hurry and I have to 
tease. I hate to do it, but I have to make her remember 
that I have n’t been fed. She is n’t always particular to 
give me a clean dish, and she has been thoughtless 
enough to give me sour milk, which I never drink, and 
corned beef, which I do not like. 

As I told you, I am a quiet cat and do not care to 
rove about, but one day 1 went through our. fence into 
a field for a lunch of fat grasshoppers. 

I crawled through a gap in the fence and sat down in 
the middle of the field. I think I must have dozed, for I 
did n’t notice a boy coming- across the field. The first 
thing I knew, he snatched me up in his arms and ran, 
before I could open my mouth to mew. 

I tried to kick and scratch, but he had smothered me 
in his jacket, and he held me so tight that I could do 
nothing to get away. He ran so fast that I was hoping 
he would fall, but he did n’t. He kept on running until 
I heard him open a door and shut it. Then I knew that 
he had taken me into a house. 


BEAUTY’S STORY 


25 


He took me out from under his jacket and dropped 
me on the floor. I flew into a corner under a table. I 
expected to be killed, and shook so with fright that I 
could hardly stand. 

" What did you bring that cat home for ? ” I heard a 
woman’s voice say. " Where did you get her ? ” 

" Oh, I picked her. up, and I ’m going to take her to 
our store. Mr. Wilkins promised me a dollar if I would 
get him a good cat.” 

" But that cat belongs to some family, I know ; it ’s 
too sleek for a stray cat. You have no right to it.” 

" Don’t you worry, mother; there are cats enough 
around, and I want a good one. I picked it up, and I 
shall take it to Mr. Wilkins to-morrow morning.” 

The woman did n’t say anything more. I was hoping 
that she would make the boy carry me back, but she went 
about her work, and I stayed trembling under the table. 

It was late in the afternoon when I was taken, and 
soon evening came. I heard dogs barking in the yard, 
which frightened me still more, for I was afraid that they 
would get into the house and chase me. 

When night came, the woman opened the cellar door, 
and I ran down as soon as I saw it opened. She put 
some milk and some meat down there, but I could n’t eat, 
for I was sick with terror and homesickness. 

I was still crouching in a corner of the cellar in the 
morning when they came after me. The cruel boy saw 


26 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


me and carried me upstairs. There I saw a large basket 
which I knew was to carry me away. 

The boy was just going to put me into the basket, 
when another boy opened the outside door and in rushed 
a great dog. I made one spring. The cellar door was 
still open, and I went down with a bound. I flew around 
in terror, and rushed up a wall, leaping into a coal bin. 

Imagine me, with my snowy white paws, in a black, 
dirty coal bin ! I heard the boy and his mother on the 
stairs, and the woman was saying, " The cat ’s in a fit ; 
you will have to go without her this morning or you 
will be late.” 

Was n’t I thankful for my hiding place, even if it was in 
a coal bin ! I stayed there, shaking and trembling a long 
time, wondering what my future would be, when the door 
opened again, and I heard the woman’s voice saying, 
" She is down here somewhere, in the coal bin, I think ; 
she has had a fit, and I don’t know as she is over it.” 

Then I heard another voice which made my heart 
glad, saying, " Poor Beauty, she must have been dread- 
fully frightened, to have a fit ! ” Then the head of my 
little mistress appeared over the side of the bin, and her 
sweet voice called me. I jumped out of my hiding place 
and ran to the edge of the bin, and my dear little mistress 
took me, dirty as I was, into her arms and kissed me. 

" You ’d better take this apron,” the woman said, " you 
will get your dress all coal dust. I am glad you have 


BEAUTY’S STORY 


2 7 


found her. My boy didn’t know that she belonged to 
anybody.” 

I was still trembling, so my little mistress carried me 
home as fast as she could, all wrapped up in the woman’s 
apron. When we got into the house, she took me right 
into the sitting room and put me in an easy-chair. She 
covered me up with her own shawl, and I stayed there 
several hours before I felt able to sit up or eat anything. 

I must tell you how my little mistress found out where 
I was. She missed me at night and kept looking for me 
all the evening. Her mother could hardly coax her to go 
to bed, and her father went all over the garden and into 
the barn looking for me. The whole family were very 
much alarmed. 

In the morning my little mistress could n’t eat her 
breakfast, she felt so badly, and she went over to the 
next neighbor to ask about me. 

This neighbor said she saw a boy running out of the 
field, and he looked as if he had something under his 
jacket. 

Then my little mistress thought she knew where the 
boy lived, so she went to his house and asked for me. 
Was n’t it fortunate that I had n’t been carried away to 
that store ! 

I am a very happy and thankful cat now, but I never 
go into the field. I never used to hurry, but now I 
always run when I see a strange boy. 


HAROLD’S DREAM 



H AROLD was playing by himself in the garden, 
under the maple tree, one hot afternoon. He was 
tired of his wagon and his little train of cars, so he 
went to where Prince, the dog, lay asleep on the grass. 
" Come here, Prince ; I want to put my hat on your 

head and 
play that 
you are a 
little boy,” 
he said, pull- 
ing Prince 
up by his 
front paws. 

The dog 
was sleepy 
and tired 

and did not want to play, so Harold took a little stick and 
struck at him, until poor Prince got up and ran away. 

Then Harold looked for Snowball, the cat. She was 
snugly curled up under a bush, asleep ; but Harold pulled 
her out roughly, and tried to crowd her into his little 
wagon. 


Harold and Prince 



HAROLD’S DREAM 


29 

Of course Snowball did not like that, so she scratched 
Harold, and ran off as fast as she could go. 

Harold’s mamma, who had been watching him from 
the porch, said : " I have told you very often that it is 
unkind and selfish to disturb Prince and Snowball when 
they are asleep. Now you must go to your room.” 

Harold ran upstairs and threw himself upon his own 
little bed. It seemed as if he had been there only a minute 
when something strange happened. He thought that he 
was not there at all, 
but in the garden, and 
a number of dogs and 
cats were near him 
talking. He was sur- 
prised to find that he 
understood what they 
were saying. 

Prince was the first 
speaker. " I am very tired of this,” he said. " My little 
master does not treat me well at all. This morning he 
took me with him when he went out on his bicycle, and 
I had to run so fast that I got very hot and tired. When 
we came back, and I was trying to rest, he disturbed me 
so that I had to go and hide.” 

" I often have to hide from him,” said Snowball. '' He 
will not let me get a chance to sleep. He lifts me by one 
paw, and he squeezes me so tightly that it makes me ache. 



30 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


He cannot understand how it hurts, or he would not do it, 

I am sure. Sometimes I have to scratch him to get away. 

" You are a brave cat if you dare to scratch him,” said 
a thin, sober little kitten. " There are three children at 
my house, and they are always running after me. I have 
hardly a minute’s peace. Sometimes I think they will 

kill me. The 
baby pulls my 
fur out, and 
squeezes me 
until I can- 
not breathe, 
and the other 
children pull 
me around 
until I am 
bruised and 
sore. Their 
mother never 

tries to stop them, but if I give them one tiny scratch 
with my claws, to let them know when I am hurt, they 
slap me and call me cross.” 

" That is very unfair,” said a dog who was walking 
about. " You must excuse me for walking while I talk, 
but I have been fastened all day with a short chain, and 
I am quite stiff. You don’t know how thankful I am to 
get a chance to run.” 



The Dog that was chained 


HAROLD’S DREAM 


31 


" I am often fastened all day,” said another dog, " but 
that is not the worst of it, for sometimes they forget 
to give me fresh water. My house is in a hot part 
of the yard, and the heat makes me suffer with thirst. 
If I could have plenty of water, a good bone, and my 
house in a shady place, I would not mind being tied 
so much.” 

" You might not always get a bone or water if you were 
not tied,” said a hungry-looking dog. " I am free to run, 
so I suppose my master thinks I can provide for myself. 
I hate to steal, and often I cannot find water to drink 
when I am suffering from thirst. I think my master 
ought to look out for me a little better.” 

" Speaking of fresh water,” piped a little bird sitting 
on a branch over the dog’s head, " the worst thing I ever 
knew happened to my cousin, the canary. His mistress 
went away for a visit and forgot to leave him water 
enough to drink, and he died of thirst. Only think of it ! 
I have to fly a long way for water sometimes, but I am 
free. I cannot bear to think of my poor cousin.” 

" I wonder,” said a cat under the tree, " how the people 
who own us would like to be treated as they treat us. 
Half the time they forget to give me food or drink, and 
when I tease for it, they scold me and say that I am 
1 always under foot.’ They do not know that I can’t help 
crying when I am hungry. If they fed me, I would not 
get in their way.” 


32 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 



" They say,” remarked another cat, " that we can catch 
our own food, but that is not so easy. Even when hunger 
drives us to try to catch a bird, the birds are usually too 
spry. As for mice, there are days when we cannot even 

get a smell 
of one. And 
the hungrier 
any one is, 
the harder it 
seems to find 
anything to 
eat. Nowa- 
days the swill 
pails are all 
tightly cov- 
ered, so there 
is no chance 
there.” 

" You can’t 
tell me any- 
thing about 

that,” said a faint voice. All turned to see where it came 
from, and Harold spied under a bush the thinnest, most 
forlorn cat that he had ever seen. It made his heart 
ache to look at it. 

The cat looked timidly around, and edged as far away 
from the dogs as she could, then she said in a weak voice: 


The Little Girl and her Kitten 



HAROLD’S DREAM 


33 


" When I was a kitten, I was taken away from my mother 
and given to a little girl. She was very kind to me, and 
I had milk and meat every day. I was happy, for I was 
never turned out at night, and she did not pull me about. 
I wish I had died then. 

" I was nearly grown up when the family moved away 
and left me. I cried about the house day after day until 
I was nearly starved. I went to the next neighbors, but 
they drove me away. I tried another neighbor, and a great 
dog flew after me. Wherever I went I was driven off by a 
dog or stones. No one wanted me, no one pitied me or 
was willing to feed me. I now wander about trying to find 
food and shelter. I am slowly starving, for often I can 
find nothing to eat for days. I had three dear little kittens 
under the doorstep of an old house, but I had no food to 
give them, and they died.” 

Here her voice died out in a wail. All the other cats 
wailed, too, and even the dogs growled low in sympathy. 
One of them said to another : " I am glad that my little 
master never let me chase cats. I can see now how cruel 
it is, even if you do not mean to hurt them.” 

Harold began to sob, and then he heard his mother 
say, " Why, my dear boy, what are you dreaming about ? ” 
He awoke to find her bending over him. 

" O mother, I have had such a bad dream ! Please let 
me go right over to Clara Moore’s house. They went away 
last week, and I am afraid that they left her little kitten.” 


34 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


Harold’s mother was glad to grant the request, and 
she went with him to the next street. 

The poor kitten was there on the back doorstep, 
crouched down and very unhappy. When she saw them 
coming, she got up and cried, as she tried to tell them 
how hungry and miserable she felt. 

"We must not leave her here to suffer any longer,” 
said Mrs. Sumner; " we will carry her home until we can 
find a good place for her to live.” 

" The dream made me see 
things so clearly,” said Harold, 
" that I shall try never to be 
thoughtless of any living crea- 
ture again.” 

" I would rather have my boy 
kind and considerate to animals 
than to have him great in any other way,” said his mother. 

"Just remember,” she said, "that the horse, cow, cat, 
dog, and everything that lives, can be hungry, thirsty, 
hot, cold, frightened, and lonely. It is your duty to help 
them, just as you would like to be helped if you were 
in their place.” 



Deserted Kitten 


THE LOST TWINS 


A D READFUL misfortune had come to Milly Rand, 
or " Little Sunshine,” as her parents called her. Her 
face was usually bright with sunny smiles, but now the 
sun was clouded in, 
and tears had chased 
all the sunshine out 
of her face. 

Patty and Gray 
were lost. Patty and 
Gray were two kit- 
tens so much alike 
that no one but Milly 
could tell them apart. 

When Milly got 
home from school 
every day, her first 
question was, " Where 
are Patty and Gray? I want them to play with me.” 

Now they were gone, and Milly had searched the 
house from cellar to attic, but no Patty or Gray was to 
be found. She questioned every member of the family, 
but no one had seen them. 



Milly’s Twins, Patty and Gray 


36 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


Milly was in despair. Not even her mother could 
comfort her, and when dinner time came, and papa got 
home, Milly still wept. 

In vain her mother urged her to come to the table 
and try to eat some dinner. " How can I eat,” she said, 
sobbing, " when some cruel boy may have stolen Patty 
and Gray, and will starve them ? ” 

After dinner Mr. Rand took her in his lap and rocked 
her, and told her that perhaps they would come back 
again in a day or two. At last, Milly, worn out with cry- 
ing, fell asleep. Her father laid her gently down on the 
couch and covered her up. 

" What shall I do when she wakes ? ” Mrs. Rand 
said. " I am afraid she will make herself ill over this 
loss.” 

Poor Milly did not sleep long, and when she awoke, her 
grief was as great as before. Everybody in the house 
tried to take her mind from her loss. Her elder sister 
brought a lovely string of beads, and offered them to 
her, but Milly waved them away. 

A great noise was heard on the stairs, — thump, thump, 
thump, — and the door opened. In came her little brother 
Bobby, dragging a new sled that his papa had given him 
only a week ago. 

Bobby had had only one coast on it, but the warm- 
hearted little fellow was bringing it to console his sister. 
But Milly refused this magnificent gift. 


THE LOST TWINS 


37 


Last of all came Bridget. She went up to Milly and 
said: " Now just come into the kitchen and see what I 
am going to make. I’m mixing up some nice ginger- 
bread, the kind you like, and you may cut out anything 
you like — boys and girls, and little dogs and cats.” 

At the last word, " cats,” Milly cried out as if some 
one had hurt her, " Oh, my little Patty ! oh, my poor 
Gray ! where are you ? ” And there was another shower 
of tears. Poor Bridget went in haste to the kitchen, 
and Mrs. Rand took Milly in her arms. 

" My dear little girl,” she said, " I know you did n’t 
mean it, but I am afraid you have hurt poor Bridget’s 
feelings. Did you know that she was going this afternoon 
to see a sister who has just come from her home across 
the ocean ? She has n’t seen this sister since they were 
girls together. She gave up going because she thought 
she might amuse you this afternoon by making ginger- 
bread. Don’t you think that she will be sorry now that 
she stayed at home for you ? ” 

Milly stopped crying to listen. " Can’t she go now, 
mamma ? ” 

" No, dear. It is too late. I have let Ann go, and I 
can’t spare them both, you know.” 

" But, mamma, how can I play when perhaps my 
kittens are suffering ? ” 

" Milly, dear, will it make their suffering any less for 
you to cry all the afternoon ? ” 


38 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


" No, mamma, but I can’t be happy. I don’t feel as if 
I could ever smile again.” 

" I would like to have you learn to smile sometimes 
for the sake of other people. We all feel badly about 
Patty and Gray, but we have felt worse about you. 
You have made us all very unhappy, my child.” 

" I am very sorry, mamma, and I will try not to cry 
any more for my twins. I think I will go now and stay 
with Bridget.” 

" That is my own brave little girl,” Mrs. Rand said; 
then she took Milly’s hand, and they went to the kitchen 
together. 

Bridget brightened up when she saw Milly. " I 
thought the gingerbread would bring her,” she said to 
herself. She began to prepare for the baking. She 
went to the pantry and got flour and sugar and eggs. 
Then she went to the closet to get a bowl to beat the 
eggs in. When she opened the closet door she stopped 
suddenly. 

" Hark, Miss Milly! What is that I hear? ” 

Milly ran to her side and listened. Surely it was a faint 
mew , and following it was another much louder. Milly 
opened a drawer under the shelves where Bridget kept 
the dish towels. Out jumped Gray, while Patty crawled 
out more slowly from the back part of the drawer, 
yawning as if she were saying, " What ! is it morning 
so soon ? ” 


THE LOST TWINS 


39 


Milly seized them both, and laughed and cried over 
them, until the astonished kittens struggled out of her 
arms and ran away. 

" Well, well ! ” exclaimed Bridget. " I left that drawer 
open only a minute while I was getting dinner. They got 
in and hid, and I shut it in a hurry and never saw even 
the tips of their tails.” 

" The next time that they are missing,” said Milly, 
" I shall look in all the closets and drawers in the house 
before I call them lost.” 


WILLIE’S PRIZE 


Wlllie’s Prize 


she was reading, 
said : " What 

are you worry- 
ing about now, 
Isabel ? What 
harm does a 
stray dog or cat 
do you, that you 
should begrudge 
it a meal and a 
shelter ? Delia 
found a good 
home for the 



"IV /TOTHER, there comes Willie with a dirty little 
.IV A cur slinking along behind him. That boy has 
a perfect mania for picking up stray dogs and cats. 
I do hope Delia won’t let it into, the kitchen.” 

Isabel Boyn- 
ton stopped, and 
her mother, look- 
ing up from 
the book that 


40 



WILLIE’S PRIZE 


41 


last dog that Willie brought home, and that was surely 
better than leaving it on the street to starve.” 

" But, mother, they are so dirty that I can’t bear to 
see them around.” 

Just then a boy about eight years old burst into the 
room. His eyes were shining, his cheeks all aglow, and 
he began to speak eagerly. 

" Oh, mother, I have found such a poor, wretched little 
dog on the street ! Some boys were throwing stones at 
him and I made them stop. He is lame and he trembles 
all over. He is starved, I am sure, and Delia says that 
I must ask you if she may feed him. May she ? ” 

" We don’t want stray dogs in the house,” Isabel ex- 
claimed, as soon as she could get a chance to speak, 
" and you are a naughty boy to bring him in. Very 
likely he has fleas or some disease, and our Flossie will 
catch something if he stays here. Mother, tell Willie to 
take him away, won’t you ? ” 

Mrs. Boynton looked at her two children. Willie was 
generous and warm-hearted, so different from Isabel, 
who was cold and selfish. Mrs. Boynton hoped that 
there was tenderness in Isabel’s heart if it could only be 
reached. She was a problem to her mother, who could 
not understand such a disposition. 

Mrs. Boynton was so kind-hearted that she liked to 
have her children sympathize with suffering. Isabel’s 
selfishness was beginning to trouble her, and she wished, 


42 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 



if possible, to make her daughter see for herself this 
fault. She stooped down and took up a little white 
poodle from the rug. It was Flossie, a great pet with all 

the household. 

" Isabel,” she said, 
"suppose Flossie should 
get lost, and a large 
dog should bite her 
and make her lame, 
and then roll her in the 
mud. If you should go 
by afterwards and see 
her on the street, do 
you think you would 
recognize your dainty 
white pet ? ” 

" I dare say I should 
not, mother, but it is 
very unpleasant even to 
imagine such a thing.” 

" Still, you know it 
might easily happen. 
This very dog that 
you want Delia to close the door upon may have been 
somebody’s pet once. Even supposing that he never 
had a comfortable home or kind care, do you think he 
cannot suffer? ” 


WILLIE’S PRIZE 


43 


Isabel’s cheeks grew red, and there were tears in her 
eyes. She looked sorry and ashamed. 

Willie seized his mother’s hand and said: " Oh, come, 
mother, come ! The little dog will be starved if we wait 
any longer.” 

" I want you to come, too,” Mrs. Boynton said to 
Isabel, and they all went together to the kitchen. 

Such a piteous little dog as it was, huddled by the 
stove, shaking with weakness and fear. Such a sad little 
creature — muddy, lame, and hollow-eyed. The sight of 
it was enough to melt the heart of any one who stopped 
to think. Isabel looked at the forlorn little dog and 
said, " Oh, let us take care of him, mother ! ” 

Delia was only too glad to get permission to feed him. 
When the dish of meat was set before him, and he ate 
ravenously, she said : "He was just starving for food. 
When my work is done I will give him a nice bath, 
and that will make him feel better.” 

It was wonderful what one week’s good care did for 
the little dog. For the first two or three days he slept 
nearly all of the time on a little bed that they made for 
him in the shed. Then his thin sides began to fill out, 
the sad look disappeared from his eyes, his lameness 
went away, and they saw that he was really a very pretty 
little fox terrier. 

"He is of good breed,” Mr. Boynton said, " and he 
ought to be intelligent.” 


44 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


It was not until they had had him nearly two weeks 
that he began to show how clever he was. He and Flossie 
were great friends, and one morning they were lying on 
the rug before the fire while the family were at breakfast. 
Willie called Flossie and made her stand up and beg for 
a piece of bread. The newcomer looked at Flossie, then 
got up, shook himself, stood up on his hind legs, and 
walked up to Willie’s chair. 

The next day Mrs. Boynton asked Isabel to " shut 
the door,” but before she could get there the little dog 
had shut it by throwing himself against it. Every day 
Carlo, as they called him, did some new thing. He would 
carry a basket in his mouth a long distance. He would 
lie down and pretend that he was dead, and one day 
when Isabel was playing the piano he got up and took 
a few steps in dancing. 

Mr. Boynton advertised him as soon as he found that 
he was a valuable dog, but as no answer came, they 
began to think of him as their own. 

He was devoted to Willie, and when Willie was out 
of school the two were inseparable. Carlo always went 
to the schoolroom door with Willie, and met him when 
he returned. 

They had owned him six months when he found his 
old master. Willie was coming home from school one 
day and Carlo was with him, when suddenly Carlo gave 
a sharp bark and made a dash at a gentleman. He 


WILLIE’S PRIZE 


45 


jumped up on him with little barks and whines of joy, 
and the gentleman was as glad as the dog, for he took 
Carlo up in his arms. 

The man looked at Willie and asked, " Where did you 
get my little dog? I was afraid that I should never see 
him again.” 

Willie told the story as well as he could, with Carlo 
jumping first on his old master and then on his new 
master. When he had finished, he looked sorrowfully up 
into the gentleman’s face and said, " I suppose you will 
want to take him away now, and oh, how we shall miss 
him ! ” 

"No, I think I will leave him with you, for my wife 
and I travel about a great deal. He belonged to my little 
girl who died. I would like to go with you and see his 
new home. How came you to call him Carlo? ” 

" Oh, we tried every name that we could think of, and 
he would n’t notice any until we tried Carlo, and then he 
acted as if he knew that name.” 

"My little girl named him Charlie, and the names 
sound somewhat alike.” 

Mr. Carter was very much pleased with Carlo’s new 
home and was glad to find him so well and happy. 

" I have never allowed any dog or cat to be turned from 
my doors,” he said, " but 1 know that many people are 
thoughtless about animals, and so I felt very anxious 
about our pet.” 


46 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


Mr. Carter never claimed Carlo. He and his wife went 
to Europe the next day and were gone a long time. 
When they returned they said that it would be cruel to 
take Carlo from a home where he was so happy. So 
they made Willie a present of him. 

Isabel grew as fond of Carlo as of Flossie. The two 
dogs became great friends, and no cat or dog was ever 
turned away again by Isabel. 


FREDDIE’S BIRTHDAY 


L ITTLE Freddie Gordon got up one morning feeling 
j as if something unusual was going to happen. He 
had to stop and think a minute before he could remem- 
ber what it was. Then it came to him that this was 
his birthday. The sun was 
shining, and the birds were 
singing gayly in the trees 
near the house. His sister 
Mol lie was out in the garden 
picking some roses. Freddie 
felt sure they were for him. 

He wondered what other 
presents he would have. He 
was five years old, and he 
was going to have a party 
at five o’clock that afternoon. 

Freddie could hardly wait to get dressed, he was in such a 
hurry for the day to begin. He was almost impatient with 
his good nurse. It seemed as if she never would get his 
hair combed and his new suit out of the closet. When the 
last string was tied, and the last button buttoned, he ran 
down to breakfast as fast as his feet would take him. 



Freddie and Nero 


47 



48 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


The first thing that he saw as he entered the dining 
room was a pretty vase beside his plate containing five 
lovely roses. On the other side of the plate, all in a row, 
were five bright silver dollars. 

Freddie’s eyes shone until they were as bright as the 
silver pieces. He looked at his father and mother and 
gave a happy little laugh. 

" I know who gave me these,” he said; "papa gave 
me the money, and mamma gave me the flowers.” 

Mollie, Freddie’s eight-year-old sister, gave her little 
brother a hug, five kisses, and a ball that she had 
crocheted for him out of bright-colored worsteds. 

After breakfast the postman brought a letter from 
one of Freddie’s cousins in the country. She wrote: 

Dear Cousin Freddie, 

I wish I did not live so far away, for I should like to be at your birth- 
day party. We all have something to give you, but we are going to keep 
your presents until you come to see us. I have a little white kitten for 
you. She is so little that she can’t open her eyes yet, and I have named 
her Daisy. Johnnie has a pair of white rabbits with pink eyes, and Kate 
is going to give you five yellow chickens that have just come out of their 
shells. You don’t know how cunning and pretty they are. We all send 
love, and hope that you will come and visit us just as soon as the violets 
peep out of the ground. Your loving cousin 

Freddie was so delighted with this letter that he got 
his mother to read it to him three times. His sister 
read it to him twice after that, and he did n’t get tired 
of hearing it. 


FREDDIE’S BIRTHDAY 


49 


Freddie went to school every day, and his sister Mollie 
took charge of him on the way. Mollie was usually very 
careful of him, but this day she was excited over Freddie’s 
party, and when a little friend across the street called 
her, she told Freddie to wait for her a minute. 

This friend wanted Mollie to look at something in a 
store window that she was going to buy for a present 
for Freddie. 

Freddie waited a few minutes, and then thought he 
might as well walk along. He knew it was almost time 
to turn into the street where the school was. He turned 
a corner, but it was not the right one. 

He walked on and on, a long way, and turned more 
corners, but he saw nothing familiar. The streets grew 
narrower, and the houses looked small and strange. Chil- 
dren were playing out on the sidewalks, and Freddie 
noticed that their hair was not nicely combed, and some 
of them had dirty faces. They stared at him, and some 
began to shout after him and call him queer names. 

Freddie was a brave little boy, but he was frightened 
at being so far from home, and he began to cry. Some- 
body took hold of his hand, and a child’s voice said pleas- 
antly, " What are you crying about, little boy ? Are you 
lost ? ” 

Freddie rubbed the tears out of his eyes and looked 
up. He saw a little girl, not quite as large as his sister 
Mollie. She had sweet blue eyes and a gentle voice, but 


50 FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS. 

she was dressed in a thin calico dress, and was so lame 
that she walked with a crutch. 

Other children crowded around Freddie, and looked 
at his nice clothes, and touched his pretty hair. 

" Where do you live ? ” the little girl asked. 

Fortunately Freddie knew both the street and the num- 
ber of his house. Among the children gathered about, 
the little girl discovered a newsboy whom she knew. 

" Oh, there is Billy Foster. He knows all the streets, 
and he is a real good boy. He will take care of you. 
Billy, can’t you take this little boy home ? ” she cried out 
to the boy. 

Billy’s clothes were old and patched, but he looked 
clean, and he had a bright, honest face. 

He came forward, followed by a little dog, and answered : 

" Oh, yes, Kitty, I know where it is, and I ’ll take him 
home. My papers are all sold.” 

But Freddie was so pleased with his new friend Kitty 
that he refused to give her up. So, the newsboy on one 
side, and lame Kitty on the other, they all set out, the • 
little dog at their heels. 

Freddie entertained them on the way with an account 
of the birthday presents he had had and the party he was 
going to have that very afternoon. 

Mr. and Mrs. Gordon were sitting at the front window 
looking anxiously up and down the street in the hope of 
seeing their little boy. Mollie was lying on the sofa, for 


FREDDIE’S BIRTHDAY 


51 


she had cried until she was quite ill. Messengers had 
been sent in every direction to look for him. 

When Billy, Kitty, and Freddie walked into the house 
through the back door, no one saw them. The first thing 
that Mr. Gordon knew, a little dog came running up to 
him and jumped up on him, as if he wanted to tell him 
something. 

Then a queer thumping sound was heard — it was 
Kitty’s crutch ; then a dear voice chatting to his little 
visitors. " Come right along. I want to show you my 
birthday presents, and my mamma, papa, and Mollie. 
Come in ; you must come with me ! ” 

Mrs. Gordon sprang into the hall and in one moment 
had the dear little runaway in her arms. Mr. Gordon 
took Kitty and Billy to a sofa and heard the stoiy of 
how they found Freddie. 

The two children were bashful at first, and almost 
afraid to speak, but kindness soon put them more at 
their ease. When they were taken to the dining room 
and treated to sandwiches, cakes, ice cream, and bon- 
bons, they thought it was like a visit to fairyland. 

Soon after, they were ready to go, and each had a 
basket of goodies and a shining piece of silver. Billy 
turned at the door, and calling his little dog, he begged 
Freddie to take him as a birthday present from him. 

" I want to give you something, we have had such a 
good time, and Nero will be happier with you, because 


52 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


my mother does n’t like dogs.” So the first party went 
away, minus one member, and there was time for Freddie 
to have a nap before the second party came. 

There were games, supper, music, and dancing at the 
second party, and many pretty gifts were brought to 
Freddie. 

When all was over and mamma was putting FVeddie’s 
tired little head on the pillow, he said : " I had two par- 
ties, didn’t I, mamma? They were both lovely parties, 
but it seems as if I liked the first one the best. I shall 
always love Billy’s dog and try to make him happy, be- 
cause Billy and Kitty were so good to me, and brought 
me home to my dear mamma.” 

Then he fell asleep, and the birthday was over. 


DOWN THE RIVER 


O NE lovely day two children stood in a meadow, 
looking at a boat on the river, fastened by a rope 
to a stake. One was a boy, about ten years of age, 
-and the other, a girl, two years younger than the boy. 

" Papa said that the 
boat must be put un- 
der the barn for win- 
ter, some time to-day,” 
said the girl. " I do 
wish we could have 
had one more row in 
it, don’t you, Harold ? ” 

" Yes, I do. I hate 
to give up going out 
on the river. Why 
can’t we go out a little 
while now, Alice ? I ’ll go up to the barn and get the oars.” 

"We can’t. I asked papa if we might go out this 
afternoon, and he said that one of the oars got broken 
in the barn.” 

" Well, we can get in and rock, anyway. Come along, 
Alice.” 



53 



54 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


Harold pulled the boat in to the shore, and the two 
children got in, and began to rock it from side to side. 
Suddenly there was a cry from Alice, " See, Harold, the 
stake is going to give way ! ” 

As she spoke, the boat swung out into the current. 

" O Harold ! ” cried Alice, " what shall we do ? ” 

Harold noticed that Alice was beginning to cry, and he 
saw that he must be brave for her sake. 

" Don’t cry, Alice,” he said ; " the river will be narrower 
soon, and we shall drift up against some shore.” 

" But it ’s growing late. It will be dark soon, and I feel 
afraid,” said Alice. " Can’t we make them hear us at any 
of the farmhouses up on the shore ? ” 

" I am afraid not, Alice,” answered Harold ; " they are 
too far away. We must sit still and try not to worry. 
If no one is in the fields or on the river, there is the 
narrow place, you know; we can surely get the boat 
in there.” 

The boat drifted rapidly down the stream. The dew 
began to fall, and it was growing dark and cold. 

Just as Alice began to sob softly, and Harold was 
almost in tears, the river grew so narrow that they found 
themselves quite near the shore. A few minutes more, 
and they were within reach of tall reeds, by means of 
which they drew the boat in toward the shore. 

Harold jumped out of the boat. He stepped almost up 
to his knees in water, and pulled the boat up as far as he 


DOWN THE RIVER 


55 


could. Then he helped Alice out, but he could not save 
her from getting her feet wet. 

" Oh, where are we, Harold ? ” cried Alice. " I am so 
frightened and cold. Can’t we find a house somewhere ? ” 

''We will try,” said Harold, bravely. " Don’t cry now; 
it won’t do any good. See, here is a road, and there is a 
light ! ” 

By this time the children were on the road, and right 
before them stood a very small, black cottage. Alice was 
going to run to it, but Harold held her back. 

" I remember that cottage, Alice. We passed it on 
our way to the school picnic. I heard some boys say that 
a cross old woman lived there all alone. They said that 
she hated boys, and chased them with sticks sometimes.” 

" O dear! what shall we do? We can’t go there. 
Isn’t there another house near? I am so cold, and I 
don’t like this lonely road.” 

" There is n’t another house for half a mile. We must 
go in here, for your feet are wet. Surely she won’t hurt 
us. Maybe she likes girls, and I can go home if she will 
only take you in.” 

" Oh, no, Harold, you must n’t leave me alone there,” 
cried Alice. 

"No, I won’t. Come, let’s be brave and go in,” and 
Harold, holding his sister’s hand, went up to the cottage. 

The first knock brought no one, but a louder one was 
given, and then steps were heard. 


5 6 FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 

"Who is there?” said a voice that sounded very stern 
to the frightened children. 

Harold answered: "We are Harold and Alice Melton, 
and we lost our way on the river. We are wet and cold, 
and want to know the nearest way home.” 

The door was opened just a crack, and in that small 
opening appeared a face which the children thought was 
very ugly. 

The old woman held a lamp so that its light shone 
upon the two anxious children. She threw the door wide 
open, and said, " Come in.” As she spoke she smiled, and 
the children were no longer afraid of her. 

She led them into a warm room where a teakettle was 
singing on the stove. There was a rag carpet on the floor, 
and an old-fashioned sofa covered with cretonne had a 
pattern of such gay flowers that it was like having a 
small flower garden in the room. There were plants in 
the windows all in blossom, and the children smelled 
pinks and heliotrope as soon as they entered the room. 
A large cat got up from his chair beside the stove, and 
came to meet them. 

Alice stooped down and caught the cat up in her 
arms. " Oh, you darling ! oh, you beauty ! ” she cried. 
" Harold, is n’t this the most beautiful cat you ever 
saw ? ” 

" Why, you dear child,” the old woman said, " you love 
pussies, don’t you ? Girls do, I guess, but boys — ” and 


DOWN THE RIVER 


57 


she looked at Harold. Before he had a chance to speak, 
Alice answered for him. 

" Oh, Harold likes all kinds of pets just as much as I 
do, and he is very fond of cats and kittens.” 

" I am sure he is a good boy then. That is why my 
Jonathan did n’t run when he came in. But tell me how 
you got lost, children ? ” 

Harold told her all the story, and said that he ought 
to go home to let his parents know what had happened 
to them. He was afraid that Alice could n’t walk back, 
for they had drifted in the boat a long distance. He was 
sorry to make her so much trouble. 

''Trouble! why I am just as pleased as I can be. I 
was thinking this afternoon how pleasant it would be to 
have some one come in to supper. I felt lonesome.” 

"It must be lonesome for you,” said Harold, kindly, 
" living so far from everybody.” 

"Well, I have company three or four times a year, and 
the butcher comes once a week, and the groceryman, and 
milkman. They all stop and chat, when they can spare 
the time. Now take off your wet shoes and stockings, 
and then we will have supper.” 

" I ought to go home right away,” said Harold, " they 
will be so worried about us.” 

" You must get your feet dry first,” said the old woman. 
" Now I am going to set the table, and we will have tea 
together. I made a loaf of gingerbread to-day. It is a 


58 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 



treat, for I don’t make it very often. I made some apple 
sauce too, and I hope you like johnnycake,” she said, 
looking at them. 

Both children said that they were very fond of it, which 

seemed to please 
her very much. 

" I will toast it,” 
she said, " and pour 
a little hot milk 
over it. J onathan 
likes it best that 
way.” 

The fire burned 
brightly, the tea- 
kettle sang cheer- 
ily, and a delicate 
odor came from 
the toasted johnny- 
cake. Soon all was 
ready. Mrs. Baxter 
put Jonathan in an old-fashioned chair next her own. 

" He always sits beside me at the table,” she said. 
" Some people would think it was queer, but he is 
the only companion I have. I think he knows when 
I am lonesome, for he purrs louder, and it sounds as 
if he were trying to say, 1 Cheer up. See how happy 
I am!’” 


Jonathan, Mrs. Baxter’s Companion 


DOWN THE RIVER 


59 


" I should think you would be lonesome here, so far 
from everybody,” said Alice. " Would n’t you like it 
better in the village ? ” 

" Y es, it would be more cheerful if I could stay there. 
I used to live there, but I was driven away.” 

" Driven away ! ” exclaimed Harold and Alice. 

"Yes, driven away,” the old woman repeated. "The 
boys did it. They stole my apples and grapes. I wanted 
the apples, because I like apple sauce in winter, and the 
grapes, because I could n’t afford to buy any. I went out 
and tiaed to stop them, but they called me names and 
threw stones at me and at Jonathan. Once they hit 
Jonathan and I was afraid they had killed him.” 

" Oh, how cruel they were ! ” cried Alice, with tears in 
her eyes. 

"It was cruel, but I hope they didn’t mean to be so 
bad,” said the old woman. 

"Well, they drove me out. I dreaded to see them 
going to and from school. I wanted to run when I heard 
their voices. So here I am, away from everybody. It is 
lonesome, but it is quiet, and I don’t feel afraid.” 

" Oh, what a shame,” cried Alice again, " to be driven 
out of your home ! ” 

"Well, let’s not think about it any more. Tell me if 
you like my gingerbread.” 

"It is splendid! ” both children answered, "and so is 
the johnnycake.” 


6o 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


The children were so hungry that it seemed to them 
the best supper they had ever eaten.' Harold had just 
begun to say that he must hurry home, when a knock 
was heard at the door. 

Mrs. Baxter opened it, and an anxious voice inquired 
if two children had been seen in the neighborhood. 

" Here they are, sir,” said Mrs. Baxter. " Here we are, 
papa,” cried Harold and Alice. 

Mr. Melton came in, and as he kissed the children he 
said, " Did the boat run away with you, Harold ? ” 

" Y es, papa ; how did you know ? ” 

" I went down to the river, and stake, rope, and boat 
were gone.” 

" I hope you were not worried, papa,” said Alice. 

"Your mother and I felt anxious, for I couldn’t tell 
where you would be able to land.” Then, turning to 
Mrs. Baxter, he added, " I hope my young people have n’t 
given you too much trouble.” 

"No trouble at all, sir,” Mrs. Baxter said. " I was 
pleased to have them here to tea with me. I wish I 
could keep them overnight.” 

"You are very kind, indeed,” Mr. Melton said, "but a 
neighbor will be here soon with a carriage. He was to 
drive down the road and stop at every house, while I 
came down the river. I think I hear his carriage now.” 

Mrs. Baxter hastened to get the shoes and stockings, 
which were now dry, and soon the children were ready. 


DOWN THE RIVER 


6 1 


On the way home Alice told her papa how the old 
woman came to be living alone in the woods. Mr. Mel- 
ton was grieved to hear of such cruel boys, and resolved 
to teach them lessons of true manliness. This he did, 
so that in the springtime old Mrs. Baxter came back to 
her cottage in the village. 

Even Jonathan ran no longer at the sound of a boy’s 
voice. When he once strayed outside the gate into a 
field, a boy who used to be Mrs. Baxter’s greatest terror 
brought him back in his arms. She rewarded him with 
a piece of her nice gingerbread and a bunch of sweet 
old-fashioned pinks. 


THE GROCER’S BOY 


I T was the week before Christmas. Everybody was 
ordering all sorts of good things and asking to have 
them " just as quick as possible.” The grocer’s boy, John, 


The Grocer’s Boy 

was at the store early, and soon many baskets were filled 
with orders to be delivered " in a hurry.” 

The horse, old and overworked, was hurried out of 
the stable before he had quite finished his breakfast, 
and John began to pile the baskets into the wagon. 

62 



THE GROCER’S BOY 63 

" Be lively now,” the grocer said; "get back as quick 
as you can.” 

John jumped on the wagon, seized the whip, and gave 
the horse a sharp cut to begin the day with. The horse 
started off at a smart trot, his body quivering with the 
cut. He was always ready and willing to start without 
the insult of a blow. 

John kept the whip in his hand, and if the horse held 
up his pace a minute to breathe, another snap of the 
whip kept him on the run. 

John felt very proud of himself as he flourished the 
whip. He looked on both sides of the street to see if 
any of the boys were where they could see him. 

He did not look at the horse’s heaving sides or notice 
the sweat starting. He did not see the strained look in the 
horse’s eyes as he was urged and whipped along the road. 

At the different houses where he left the groceries, 
John rushed in and out as quickly as possible. In several 
places he was given fresh orders, something that had 
been forgotten and must be brought in haste. 

So the morning passed and dinner time arrived. As 
John put the horse up in the stable he could not help 
seeing that his breath came hard and fast, and he was 
wet with sweat. 

" I guess it won’t do to give him any water, he ’s so 
hot,” John said, as he put a scanty allowance of dry feed 
into the manger. 


6 4 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


The worn-out horse was almpst choking with thirst. 
His throat was hot and dry, and the dry feed did not go 
down well. He was cooling off too rapidly in the cold 
stable, for John had not taken time to rub him down, 
and had thrown only a thin covering over his wet skin. 

John hurried in to his dinner and asked for something 
warm to drink, for he said he was tired and chilled. 
His mother gave him a cup of hot cocoa, then he ate 
a good dinner rapidly, and started off for the afternoon’s 
work. 

" Hurry up,” said the grocer, as soon as John appeared. 
" Get out the horse and take these baskets, they ’re all 
rush orders.” 

" I went to Mrs. Bell’s twice this morning,” said John. 
" I wish she would give all her order at one time and 
not keep us running there all day.” 

"I can’t help it. She’s a good customer. Hurry up,” 
answered the grocer. 

John ran out to the barn. He had meant to give 
the horse water before he started out again, but being 
hurried, he forgot it. In a few minutes, whip in hand, 
he was urging the tired, thirsty horse over the road 
again. 

The afternoon was much like the forenoon, only the 
horse, growing more and more tired, began to stumble 
on the slippery road. John jerked him up with angry 
shouts and a cut of the whip. 


THE GROCER’S BOY 


65 


Once the poor animal tried to turn down a street 
where there was a watering trough, for he was almost 
crazy with thirst, but for this act John gave him another 
blow. 

A little farther on, John stopped. Without throwing 
any blanket over the heated horse, he let him stand, while 
he got out and bought a cup of hot coffee. 

Toward the close of the afternoon the horse began to 
hang his head, and when John touched him up with the 
whip he did not go any faster. 

When he stopped for the third time at Mrs. Bell’s 
house, the horse’s legs were trembling and he closed his 
eyes as if he were going to sleep. 

Mrs. Bell looked out of the window and said to her 
Aunt Sarah, " I think it’s a shame for Mr. Rush to let 
that boy race his horse so all day. Every time he has 
been here to-day the horse was in a sweat, and now he 
looks as if he would drop. It ’s wicked to work a horse so ! ” 

Her aunt replied, " Yes, he’s been here three times 
to-day, hasn’t he? It is a pity you forgot to give all 
your order this morning.” 

It was seven o’clock before John put the horse in the 
stable. He remembered then that he had not given him 
water all day. He did not want to go out to the barn 
again, so he gave him a pail of ice-cold water, which the 
horse drank greedily. Then he put his supper before 
him and left him. 


66 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


He did not stop to rub down The aching legs or give 
the tired horse any attention he could possibly help, but 
he threw a blanket over him and closed the barn for 
the night. 

As he passed the store door to go home, the grocer 
called out, " Have you put up the horse all right? ” and 
the boy answered, " Yes.” 

When John came to the store the next morning, a very 
angry-looking grocer met him at the door. " You can 
go home as quick as you like. I won’t have a boy work 
for me that drives my horse to death.” 

" Is the horse dead? ” asked John, turning pale. 

" It isn’t your fault if he doesn’t die,” said the grocer. 
" I ’ve been up about all night with him, and I must get 
another horse to take his place till he ’s well.” 

" You told me I must hurry every time I went out,” 
answered John. 

" Well, you ought to know when a horse is used up 
and not keep him running all day. I did n’t want you 
to do that. Now I have lost Mrs. Bell, one of my best 
customers. She telephoned me that she would n’t trade 
with me if I let boys drive my horse to death.” 

The horse died that day, and the grocer, the boy driver, 
and Mrs. Bell were each to blame. 

The grocer ought not to have trusted a boy who had 
no sympathy for animals to drive and care for his horse. 


THE GROCER’S BOY 


67 


John was too selfish to give the horse time to breathe 
or eat, and he did not care whether he was made com- 
fortable in the stable or not. 

Mrs. Bell was thoughtless in giving her order, and 
made the horse take many unnecessary trips to her 
house. 

So a willing, patient animal was neglected and worked 
to death, when with good care he might have lived many 
years and done faithful work, because the man, the boy, 
and the woman had never learned to be thoughtful 
and kind. 


THE STOLEN NEST 


NE bright morning in May, Mr. and Mrs. Song 



V_>/ Sparrow flew into the woods in search of the right 
place to build a nest. Mr. Sparrow said, " What do you 
think of this thick, green grass under the trees ? ” 

Mrs. Sparrow cocked her pretty head on one side 
and looked at it from a low bough of a tree. 

" I am a little afraid to build there,” she said. " Once 
I had a beautiful nest in the grass, and a boy ran through 
the field and stepped on it. I had no eggs in it, but I 
think I will put it in a safer place this time, for it is a 
great deal of work to build a nest.” 

Mr. Sparrow sang a sweet song, and then picked a 
few insects off the leaves near him. He was thinking, 
and soon he said : " That is a very nice bush that you 
are sitting on. We could hide a nest there under the 
leaves and it would be safe. No one could tread on it 
there.” 

Mrs. Sparrow hopped around in the bush and looked 
it over carefully. She flew in and out of it, chirping like 
a busy little housewife. At last she said: "Very well, 
we will take this bush for our home. I will go now and 
look for something to build it with. It is not such easy 


68 


THE STOLEN NEST 


69 



work as one 
might think, 
to pick up the 
right things to 
build a nest 
with.” 

She began 
by searching 
through the 
tall grass un- 
til she dis- 
covered some 
long roots, 
fine but very 
strong. She 
wove all these 
together in a 
crotch of the 
bush, cover- 
ing it with 
green leaves 
until at last 
she thought 
her dear lit- 

A Nest with Four Pretty Eggs 

tie home was 

hidden. Then she searched further and found some soft 
moss that she picked to pieces with her sharp bill, and 


70 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


she got a few long hairs over in a field where a horse 
was grazing. 

She worked so hard that she hardly stopped to eat. 
Her mate sat close by, singing a happy, sweet song to 
cheer her. 

A young girl living near the woods, who was ill, was 
happy just from listening to that sweet song. 

At last the nest was finished, and a beautiful piece of 
work it was. Mr. and Mrs. Sparrow were both so proud 
and happy that they could hardly stop singing all day. 

" O mother,” said Alice, the little sick girl, " how 
sweetly the birds sang this morning in the woods! I 
woke up early with the old pain. I was going to call you, 
then I began to listen to the birds. They sounded so 
happy that while I was listening the pain went away 
and I fell asleep.” 

"It must have been the song sparrow that I saw 
flying into the woods yesterday,” said Alice’s mother. 
" The birds are building their nests this month. If 
nothing disturbs them, we shall have a great many dear 
little birds flying around here in the summer. They eat 
the worms and bugs that harm our trees and flowers.” 

" Is the English sparrow good for anything, mamma?” 

" Every bird is of some use, dear. I have seen English 
sparrows eating the cankerworms that are so trouble- 
some,” answered her mother. 

" What are cankerworms ? ” asked Alice. 


THE STOLEN NEST 


7 1 


" They are little green worms that come down from 
the trees on a fine thread like silk. They eat the leaves 
of the trees, and then swing down to the ground. They 
do so much harm to our trees that we ought to be 
thankful to the English sparrow for eating them.” 

" Are there many kinds of sparrows ? ” asked Alice. 

" Yes, the sparrow family is a large one. There are a 
song sparrow, a tree sparrow, and a field sparrow that 
look very much like the English sparrow. Then there 
are a white-throated sparrow and a fox sparrow that are 
very handsome birds. Some people dislike the English 
sparrows and want boys to kill them.” 

" I don’t see how any one can kill a little bird,” said 
Alice. ''It seems so cruel to take the life of such happy 
little creatures.” 

While Alice and her mother were talking about spar- 
rows, Mr. Sparrow was searching for insects to carry to 
Mrs. Sparrow, who was sitting on the pretty nest. 

When he flew to her with a nice morsel for her break- 
fast, she told him that she had one little blue, speckled 
egg under her soft breast. Mr. Sparrow was so pleased 
that he flew up on a high branch of a tree, and sang a 
song for all the birds in the woods to hear. "We have 
one pretty egg ! we have one pretty egg ! ” All the 
birds heard him and sang with him, until the woods were 
filled with such beautiful songs that Alice and her mother 
stopped talking to listen. 


72 FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 

A few days passed, and the sun shone brightly. The 
spring blossoms were appearing everywhere. Mr. and 
Mrs. Sparrow were the happiest birds in the woods, for 
in the nest were four of the prettiest eggs that a bird 
could wish to have. 

Mr. Sparrow brought Mrs. Sparrow food every day. 
She did not often leave the nest, but one day she wanted 
to dip her bill in some cool water not far away, so she 
left the nest for just a minute. She got her drink, and 
flew back to the bush where her nest and its pretty 
eggs were. 

As she lighted on a tree close by, her little heart beat 
fast, for something dreadful was happening. Two girls 
were standing by her bush. They were reaching out 
their hands and touching her precious nest. 

It could not be that they were going to steal it! Her 
dear home that she had taken such pains to build, and 
her pretty eggs ! Could they be such cruel children ? 

Mrs. Sparrow screamed with terror. Mr. Sparrow, 
who was hurrying home with a green worm for his 
mate’s supper, heard her, and knew that something ter- 
rible had happened. He dropped the worm and chirped 
loudly to the girls : " Come back, come back ! Oh, bring 
back our nest and our pretty eggs! You will break our 
hearts ! ” 

The thoughtless girls kept on and went out of the 
woods, carrying the nest with the eggs still warm from 


THE STOLEN NEST 


73 


the mother sparrow’s breast. All the birds in the woods 
mourned with the sparrows and cried, " Shame ! shame ! 
to steal the nest and the eggs of an innocent bird. Think 
how much good she has done to your trees, plants, and 
flowers.” 

The sun went down, and all the long twilight the poor 
little sparrows grieved. They sat in a tree looking down 
at the bush where a few hours before they had had such 
a happy home. Now they were homeless, and it would 
take them a long time to build another nest. First they 
would go to some more lonely place and try to get away 
from children who rob birds. 

" Mother,” said Alice, " it seems to me that the birds 
are crying and worrying about something. I have n’t 
heard them sing one happy song this afternoon. Once 
their voices sounded so sad that I am afraid something 
has happened to them.” 

Just then Alice’s nurse came into the room and said, 
" I saw two girls going out of the woods, and they had a 
bird’s nest in their hands. I tried to make them carry it 
back, but they would n’t.” 

" O mother ! they have stolen our sparrow’s nest, — 
and girls, too. I never thought girls would be so cruel.” 

Poor Alice began to cry. " I am sorry that she knows 
it,” said Alice’s mother. "I am afraid she won’t sleep 
to-night. She loves the birds so much and their singing 
has made her so happy.” 


74 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


The little girls who stole the nest carried it home and 
played with it a few hours. Then they threw it away, 
never thinking or caring how much pain and sorrow 
they had caused. They had not only robbed the spar- 
rows of their home, but robbed the neighborhood of 
their sweet songs; and robbed the woods of four little 
songsters that would have come out of the eggs and 
added so much to the happiness of the world. 


MOLLIE’S FLIGHT 



B EHIND an old red barn, under the shade of a large 
apple tree, a little girl was sitting one afternoon in 
early September. 

The farm was on 
a hill, and from this 
seat under the tree 
there was a beauti- 
ful view of six miles 
of valley with its 
green fields, mead- 
ows, river, woods, 
and farmhouses. 

On another hill 
was the village with 
its white houses 
and church spires. 

It was a lovely 
scene, but the little 

girl was not look- 

. . . Mollie with her Friend Gypsy 

mg at it, but at her 

companion, a large cat. He was standing on his hind legs, 
with his front paws on her lap, looking into her face. 

75 


76 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


The child was speaking to the cat and he was listening. 
" I never liked it here,” she was saying, " and I would 
have run away if it had n’t been for you. Now they are 
going to send me away, my aunt says, to live with her 
sister, and she says that I can’t take you with me. I will 
ask Miss Sargent, just as soon as I get there, to let me 
come back for you. 

" If I could only take you I would be glad to go away 
from here, and you would be glad, too, my poor Gypsy, 
because Tom is so cruel to you. He is always watching 
to see if I save anything for you to eat, and he tells his 
mother if I feed you. Then she is angry and says you 
must catch rats and mice, but you can’t catch them all 
the time, and I know you are often hungry, aren’t you?” 

Gypsy mewed as if he agreed with all his mistress said. 

"We are going early, and aunt is going to drive me 
over. If uncle would take me, I am sure he would let 
me carry you, but he has gone away for several days. I 
suppose I won’t have a chance to see you again before 
I go, but I will come back after you, Gypsy. I will 
find a place for you somewhere near me, so you must 
be patient until I come.” 

"What’s that?” cried out a sharp voice. "I heard 
what you said, Miss.” 

With these words a boy of twelve came from his hid- 
ing place behind the barn, and picking up a stone threw 
it after the cat, who had run at the sound of his voice. 


MOLLIE’S FLIGHT 


77 


" Oh, ho ! Miss Mollie, you are going to ask my aunt 
to let you have that old cat, are you? She hates cats, 
and she would n’t have one in her house, and there ’s no 
barn where he can hide as he does here.” 

" Then I ’ll find him a home somewhere else,” said 
brave little Mollie, her eyes flashing and her cheeks 
very red. " He shan’t stay here to be tormented and 
starved. If my aunt won’t let me carry him with me 
to-morrow, I will come back for him.” 

" You need n’t think about coming back, for you won’t 
get a chance, and if you did, you would n’t find any cat 
here. I ’ll take care of him as soon as you are gone,” 
answered Tom, with a grin. 

Mollie burst into tears, and ran into the house where 
she shut herself in her room. 

Mollie was an orphan. Two years before, her mother 
died, and she came to live with her uncle, Mr. Thomas 
Green. Mrs. Green was not pleased to have the care of 
Mollie. She was angry, too, that her husband brought 
Mollie’s pet kitten, Gypsy, and insisted that she should 
be allowed to keep it. 

Mrs. Green banished it to the barn, but Mollie visited 
it and tried to save part of her own food for the cat, some- 
times going hungry that it might be fed. 

Tom watched her, and if he saw her put aside a part 
of her food, he told his mother, who quickly put a stop 
to it. 


78 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


Mollie and Gypsy should have found a friend in Tom, 
but instead he was their greatest enemy. Tom was so 
selfish, jealous, and disagreeable that no one liked him. 
Mr. Green saw that Mollie was not happy in his home, 
and he was making up his mind what could be done. 

Just at this time his wife’s sister, who lived in the vil- 
lage, in a pretty cottage on the hill, wanted a young girl 
to live with her. 

Mrs. Green suggested that she should take Mollie. 
Mr. Green was willing, for he knew it would be a pleas- 
ant home for the child. So it was settled that Mollie 
should go. 

Unhappy as Mollie was in her uncle’s home, she 
dreaded a change. Miss Sargent was almost a stranger 
to her, and she imagined her to be very severe, because 
even Tom behaved very much better when Miss Sargent 
came to see them. 

At supper it was settled that Mollie was to go the 
next forenoon at ten o’clock. Then Tom said, " Mollie 
says she is going to take her cross old cat, and I said 
that Aunt Sargent would n’t let her keep him.” 

" I think Mollie ought to be thankful that she can have 
such a good home herself. She ought to know better than 
to take that miserable cat with her,” said Mrs. Green. 

Poor Mollie could eat no more supper. It seemed as if 
every mouthful would choke her, as she thought of Gypsy 
left to suffer. 


MOLLIE’S FLIGHT 


79 


Mollie stole out into the twilight, wondering what she 
could do. " I cannot leave Gypsy,” she thought. 

At last she decided upon a plan which she could carry 
out. She would not wait until to-morrow ; she would go 
to-night and carry Gypsy with her. If Miss Sargent 
would not keep him, she would carry him about the 
village until she found him a good home. 

In their many hours together, Mollie had taught him 
many tricks. He could give a paw like a dog, stand on 
his hind legs and walk, jump over her two hands held 
high, and lie down and make believe he was dead. He 
was always good-natured. Surely such a cat deserved 
the best of homes. 

Yes, she would go to-night and carry Gypsy in her 
arms. It was a good many miles, but Mollie liked to 
walk, and Gypsy would be company for her. 

Mollie sat very quietly in her own room until her aunt 
closed the house for the night, then she began to pre- 
pare for her flight. 

She put on a thicker dress, took an apron to carry 
Gypsy in, and her boots, which she could not put on 
until she was out of the house. Then she got the red 
ribbon which she kept for Gypsy’s neck, and stole softly 
downstairs and out of the house. 

Suppose Gypsy could not be found. What a disap- 
pointment that would be ! She went back of the barn 
and called him softly. 


8o 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


To her great joy he came at once, and rubbed against 
her, purring loudly. Then he stood up on his hind legs 
and begged, for he thought this visit was made to bring 
him something to eat. 

Mollie sat down and began to tie on his ribbon. 

" Poor Gypsy,” she said, " I have nothing for you now, 
but I am going to carry you to a better home, and I 
think you will have a good breakfast.” 

She wrapped the apron about him and took him in her 
arms. Then she started down the lane which led to the 
road, keeping in the shadow of the trees. Gypsy put one 
white paw on her shoulder and looked curiously about. 

Mollie walked very fast at first until she was quite a 
distance from the house. 

The wind sighed among the trees, and once a little 
rabbit ran across their path. Gypsy struggled a little in 
her arms and mewed, for he was hungry. 

They were both startled by a loud crashing in the 
bushes, but it was only a cow. Owls hooted over Mollie’s 
head, but the brave little girl kept on. 

Miss Sargent’s house was in the village, at the top of 
the hill, and Mollie’s heart beat fast when she drew near 
it. She had no idea what time of night it was, but she 
would not call any one until morning. 

There was a cozy little porch with benches on each 
side. It was a fine place to rest, so Mollie sat down, the 
cat still wrapped up in her apron in her arms. She was 


MOLLIES FLIGHT 


8i 


very tired, and in a few moments child and cat were in a 
sound sleep. 

Miss Sargent got up early every morning. It was her 
delight to go at once to the porch to get the fresh morn- 
ing air and to enjoy the grand view of the mountains. 

On this beautiful September morning she arose early, 
as usual, and went to the door. She opened it and the 
first sight that met her eyes was a child asleep on the 
bench with a large cat in her lap. 

" Why, what is this ? ” she exclaimed. These words 
awoke the cat, and he sat up straight in Mollies lap and 
looked Miss Sargent in the face. " Well, well ! ” said she, 
more and more astonished. Then Mollie awoke slowly, 
and, opening her great black eyes, tried to make out 
where she was. 

" Where did you come from, child, and how did you 
get here so early?” asked Miss Sargent. 

Mollie jumped up quickly, holding Gypsy tightly in 
her arms. 

" I’m Mollie, you know,” she answered. " They were 
going to bring me here this forenoon to live with you, 
but I thought I ’d walk over and bring Gypsy. I thought 
perhaps if you saw him you would like him, too. He’s a 
very nice cat and minds everything I say.” 

Mollie was so pale that Miss Sargent feared she might 
faint. She reached out and took the cat, and drew the 
child into the house. 


82 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


" Come in, and let me get you something to eat. I 
don’t understand it. What was your aunt thinking of to 
let you walk over? The kettle is boiling. Hannah, make 
some cocoa just as quick as you can,” she said. 

She put the cat down gently in a chair and removed 
Mollie’s hat and coat. 

" May I keep him here with me ? Will you let me 
have my Gypsy ? ” Mollie asked in a shaking voice. 

" Keep whom? Let you have what?” Miss Sargent 
asked curiously. 

" Gypsy, my cat. Aunt Sarah said I should n’t bring 
him, and Tom said you hated cats. But he is good, he 
won’t trouble you, and he ’ll catch mice if you have any.” 

Mollie hurried the words, while sobs arose in her 
throat. 

" Of course you can keep him. Why not ? I am very 
fond of cats and so is Hannah. Our old Dick died last 
week, and we shall be pleased to keep your kitty,” said 
Miss Sargent. 

This happiness was too much for Mollie, and she 
broke down and cried for joy. 

"Poor child! You are so tired you ought not to sit 
up. When you have had some hot cocoa you will feel 
better.” 

Just then Hannah came with a cup of hot cocoa, which 
she gave to Mollie. After drinking it she began to smile, 
and soon she told Miss Sargent the reason for her flight. 


MOLLIE’S FLIGHT 


83 


About an hour later, Mr. Green appeared, looking pale 
and anxious. When he found Mollie in a little rocking- 
chair by the window, and Gypsy sitting on the window 
seat in the sun, he looked very glad. 

He kissed Mollie and asked her how she came to run 
away. Miss Sargent very quickly told him the whole 
story. Mollie thought she had never seen her uncle so 
angry as when he heard of Tom’s cruelty. 

Mollie did not have to hunt up a home for Gypsy, for 
she and her pet had found a kind friend in Miss Sargent. 
In a few weeks’ time you would hardly have recognized 
rosy, happy Mollie or the sleek, fat cat, Gypsy. 


OLD BILLY’S CHRISTMAS 


I 


HE hour for closing school had come, and still the 



A boys and girls in Miss Martin’s schoolroom lin- 
gered in their seats. She was saying : " Our Christmas 
collection is much larger than it was last year. We had 
a tree, a little feast, and a good time then, and we can 
do it on the same amount this year. Now what shall we 
do with the ten dollars we have left ? ” 

There was silence for a minute, then one of the girls 
said, " We might buy coal for some poor family.” 

" Do you know of any one who needs it ? ” asked the 
teacher. 

" No,” was the reply, " but I thought you might.” 

Miss Martin answered, " I do know of several families 
who need fuel, but six men have offered enough money 
to buy all the coal they need.” 

" What do you think we would better do with the 
money?” asked one of the boys. "It seems more like 
Christmas to make some one have a good time with it.” 

Miss Martin looked at her school for a moment without 
speaking, then she said, "Who of you has tried to share 



OLD BILLY’S CHRISTMAS 85 

a little of the Christmas joy with our faithful friends, the 
horse, the dog, or the cat ? ” 

Four hands went up, and Miss Martin called on Mary 
Prentiss first. Mary said : " I always have something on 


the tree for my cat Flossie. Last Christmas she had a 
new cushion to lie on and a bag of catnip.” 

Mary’s brother Tom was called on next, and he said, 
" I gave my dog Rollo a hard rubber ball last year and 
an extra good dinner.” 

Then Robert Graves spoke, " Papa let me give our 
horse Fanny an extra feed and a new blanket.” 


Taking Old Billy out of Harness 


86 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


It was now Alice Maynard’s turn. " We always give 
our animals a little feast and something that they can 
play with,” she said. "We had such fun last year with a 
little toy that we could wind up, and both the cat and 
the dog chased it and played with it.” 

" I am glad to hear this,” said Miss Martin, " for now 
I am sure of help in my plan for Christmas. I am going 
to ask you to help make a poor suffering animal happy 
on Christmas Day. Perhaps some of you have noticed an 
old horse that a rag and junk peddler drives to the city 
every day.” 

Nearly a dozen hands went up and voices broke out 
in : " I have seen him.” "And I.” " So have I.” 

" I see this man every afternoon as I go home from 
here,” Miss Martin said, " and I spoke to him once about 
his horse. He said, 1 My horse is all right. I feed him, 
but he is one of the poor kind.’ The poor creature looks 
thinner and weaker every day. Some nights he can 
hardly crawl along, and his master always has a whip in 
his hand. Yesterday he seemed very lame. Now what 
do you say to buying this horse and giving him a happy 
Christmas ? ” 

" Oh, let us do it ! ” cried all the children. 

"A kind farmer has offered to keep the horse for us, 
until we decide what is best to do for him. When the ped- 
dler drives home the day before Christmas, Mr. Prentiss 
will call him into his yard and offer him some old iron he 


OLD BILLY’S CHRISTMAS 


87 


has there. He will try to buy the horse, and if he suc- 
ceeds, he will have him taken out of the wagon at once. 
Mrs. Prentiss has invited us to Robert’s Christmas party, 
so we will be there to give the poor horse a welcome. 
Do you all like this plan ? ” 

Every hand was raised, and eager boys and girls began 
to tell how they would try to make the poor old horse 
comfortable and happy. 

Then school was dismissed. 

II 

It was the day before Christmas. Great preparations 
had been going on at the large, cheerful farmhouse for 
the Christmas party. The boys had set up a tree in the 
parlor. Some of the older girls had dressed it. The 
mothers had set a table with the good things that young 
people enjoy. The children had been out to give Robert’s 
pony some sugar. Everything was ready for a good time, 
when about five o’clock an old wagon, drawn by a thin, 
limping horse, was seen at the foot of the hill. 

The horse dreaded the hill ; that was plainly to be 
seen. Horses hasten joyfully toward snug stables, a 
good supper, or a drinking fountain, and they also hold 
back from things that are painful. 

So the poor old horse stopped at the foot of the hill. 
If he could have spoken in our language, he would have 



88 FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 

said : " I cannot crawl up this steep hill ; it is slippery 
and I am badly shod and lame. Besides, I am all tired 
out, and when I get home I have only a cold shelter, 
a little poor hay, and ice-cold water. Once I had a warm 


Robert’s Pony 

barn and a kind master. Now I am old and no one cares 
for me. I wish I could lie right down here and die.” 

His brutal owner gave him a cruel cut with the 
whip, and with great effort he started up the hill. The 
eager faces watching grew sad, and Robert Prentiss cried 
out, " I am going to tell that man what I think of him.” 



OLD BILLY’S CHRISTMAS 89 

" If you make him angry, we can’t get the horse,” said 
wise little Mary. 

The Prentiss house was halfway up the hill. Waiting 
outside was Mr. Prentiss, and as the horse slowly and 
painfully limped by, he hailed the man. 

" Hold on ! I have something you may like.” 

The man stopped and drove into the yard. 

" I have a pile of old iron in my barn, and there is a 
pretty good stove with it. Do you want to look at it ? ” 

The men went into the barn, watched by anxious eyes. 
Several boys stole out of the house and looked into the 
wagon for a blanket to cover the trembling old horse. 
He stood with drooping head, first lifting one foot and 
then another as he tried to rest. 

" No matter,” Robert whispered to them, "father will 
get him and then we will fiihhim up fine.” 

The men came out of the barn. " Look here,” said 
Mr. Prentiss, " your horse is not fit to travel another 
step. He is too old for your work, anyway. I hate to 
see a horse like this in harness. Now we would like 
to give to you, to your family, and to this old horse a 
merry Christmas. I will give you the stove, the old iron, 
and a five-dollar bill, and you give me the old horse. I 
will lend you one of my horses to take you home with 
your load.” 

The man hesitated. " Give me ten dollars and I will 
do it,” he said. 



90 FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 

" Your horse isn’t worth five,” Mr. Prentiss said, " but 
I will give you all I said, and add a bag of corn meal, a 
bushel of potatoes, and a load of wood for a Christmas gift 
to your wife. I will send them to you to-morrow morning.” 
" Take him out,” said the man. " You can have him.” 


Old Billy enjoying a Summer Day in the Fields 

At the word from Mr. Prentiss, half a dozen boys and 
girls appeared. In a short time the old horse was led into 
a wide stall, where two of the boys began rubbing his 
tired legs. Two more boys prepared a warm mash for 
his supper, another fixed the straw bedding, and two girls 
covered him with a good blanket which they had warmed. 


OLD BILLY’S CHRISTMAS 


9 


The peddler stood looking on in surprise. What did it 
all mean — this care for a horse that he thought was not 
worth his feed ? But he began to understand their kind- 
ness when he saw the gratitude of the cold, hungry, tired 
horse. 

In Mr. Prentiss’s snug stable, in a roomy stall, Old Billy 
was eating his warm mash with eagerness, and a happy 
group of children got as near as possible, to enjoy seeing 
him eat. 

Now and then he would stop and look around as if 
to say, "Am I dreaming?” then rub his nose on the 
nearest boy. 

At last the mothers called the children into the house, 
but amid all the joy of feasting and Christmas gifts, noth- 
ing gave the boys and girls such deep happiness as the 
thought of the old horse that was going to be tenderly 
cared for as long as he was able to take comfort in living. 


DOCTOR KITTY 


I T was Christmas afternoon. Mrs. Burns and her hus- 
band had finished their luncheon and were sitting 
before an open fire. Books, magazines, and flowers were 
about them, but they did not look happy. After a while 
Mr. Burns asked, " Wasn’t there even one thing among 
all those presents that seemed to please her ? ” 

" There was nothing that she looked happy over, ” 
Mrs. Burns said. " She lay back on her pillows looking 
so white. I would have given anything to have made 
her smile. The doctor says that she is well now, but that 
she needs to be roused. He says that he never saw a 
child so sober all the time. Oh, I' am so discouraged ! ” 
" I thought that Christmas would cheer her up,” said 
Mr. Burns. " I am sure that she had loads of presents.” 

Mrs. Burns’s sister came in just at that moment. She 
was spending Christmas with them. She said: "You 
were talking about Edith. She had too many presents, 
and there was nothing very different from what she had 
before. Her room is full of things to amuse her; she has 
everything now, and yet you expect her to be delighted 
with more books, more dolls, and more games. She is 
too weak to read, and even too weak to play. You had 

92 


DOCTOR KITTY 


93 


better have given her only one present, and then given 
the rest to some child who has n’t so much.” 

" I did give some of her things to a child who does n’t 
get many presents,” said Mrs. Burns. " I picked out 
half a dozen books and other things, and sent them this 
morning to little Anna Raymond, who is just Edith’s age.” 

" Did you tell Edith ? ” 

" Why, no. What would be the use of that ? ” 

" I think it would have pleased her more than getting 
anything herself. She needs something outside of her- 
self to be interested in.” 

" I believe that you are right,” said Mr. Burns. 

Just then a maid came to the door and said, "There 
is a little girl here who wants to see Miss Edith. I told 
her that she could not see her, and then she asked for 
Mrs. Burns.” 

" I will see her,” said Mrs. Burns. " Let her come in 
here.” 

We must go back a few hours and enter Mrs. Ray- 
mond’s home of four rooms. Breakfast was over, and 
Anna was helping her mother wash the dishes. 

After the morning’s work was done, Mrs. Raymond 
put the Christmas packages on the table. There were 
not many, but there was always something. Anna saved 
her pennies and bought some little gift for her mother, 
and her mother sat up nights making a pretty new dress 


94 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 



or dressing a doll for Anna. Besides the presents for 
Anna and her mother, there were always two or three 
packages marked " Toodles” and " Kittikins.” 

Toodles was a mongrel terrier, blind in one eye, that 
Anna had found one winter day two years before, shiver- 
ing with the 
cold. As no 
one claimed 
him, Anna’s 
mother gave 
her leave to 
keep him. 
Kittikins 


was a cat, a 
very beauti- 
ful cat, that 
had come to 
their house. 
It had been 
adopted as 
one of their 

Kittikins and her Babies 

family. 

Mrs. Raymond and Anna went to their pretty little 
parlor, while Toodles and Kittikins followed close at 
their heels. The table was not covered with bundles, 
but there were enough to make Anna’s eyes shine. 

Mrs. Raymond looked a little sad. " I could not make 


DOCTOR KITTY 


95 


much of a Christmas this year, my dear,” she said, " for 
work has not been plenty.” 

" That ’s all right, mother. You always have something 
nice for me,” said Anna, as she began handing around 
the presents. 

" Those are new holders 
that I made for you, mother, 
and there is a handkerchief 
that I bought for you. Toodles, 
here is a rubber ball for you ; 
you lost your other one, and 
you must take care of this.” 

Anna and her mother had 
to stop and have a hearty 
laugh to see Toodles leap for 
the ball, bounce it on the 
floor, and catch it again. 

" Here is a little bag of cat- 
nip, Kittikins, and a can of 
salmon. Mother bought the salmon for you, and it was 
so good of her to think of it. These two little bunches 
of rags sewed together, I made for Kittikins’s babies. 

" Now here is something for me. Oh, what a pretty 
dress ! And a storybook ! I hope it is a fairy story.” 

" I am afraid that is all, dear,” said Mrs. Raymond, 
"excepting a little box of candy.” 

" Why, that is enough for anybody,” said Anna. 



Toodles 


96 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


Just then the doorbell rang. Mrs. Raymond came in 
and set a large box on a chair. 

"What can it be, mother?” said Anna. "Is it really 
for us ? ” 

Mrs. Raymond found a card on the box, and read, 
" From Mrs. Charles Burns to Mrs. Raymond and Anna.” 

" Oh, do hurry and open it, mother, I can’t wait ! ” 
exclaimed Anna. 

A chisel and hammer were found, and soon the cover 
of the box was off. Mrs. Raymond and Anna stood over 
it, too surprised and too happy for words. 

"A doll ! I never saw such a beauty except in a shop 
window. Books ! O mother ! six books for my bookcase 
that you gave me last year. Two games that we can play 
together evenings. Oh, what a sweet little workbasket ! 
Is n’t there anything for you, mother ? ” 

" Yes, this pretty apron must be for me,” she said, 
" and here is a breakfast jacket, exactly what I needed. 
And here are two boxes of candy and some oranges.” 

" Mother, did the little girl who has been ill so long 
send us all these beautiful things ? ” 

" Her mamma sent them. I hope that little Edith sent 
them, too.” 

"Is she very ill, mother? ” 

"No one seems to know what the matter is now. 
The doctor says that she won’t get well unless she 
cheers up.” 


DOCTOR KITTY 


97 


Anna sat very still, thinking, and holding her new doll 
on her lap. Toodles, seeing Anna so quiet, went to the 
kitchen and in a moment came walking in on his hind 
legs with a puppy biscuit in his mouth, which he put in 
the doll’s lap. 

Kittikins was rolling over and over on some pieces of 
catnip. Then she jumped up and began a frolic with 
her handsome kittens. 

Pretty soon Anna spoke : " Mother, I want to do some- 
thing to cheer that poor sick girl who can’t find anything 
to make her laugh. You said that I could keep Kittikins’s 
two babies until we could find a good home for them. 1 
am sure that this is just the place for one of them, and 
he will cheer Edith and make her laugh.” 

" Perhaps she would not like him, and her mother might 
not let her have him,” said her mother. 

" Let me try, mother, please. Let me go to-day and 
make her a Christmas present of a kitty.” 

" It is worth trying,” answered Mrs. Raymond. " I will 
fix up a pretty basket for him, and line it with red.” 

Mrs. Burns was waiting to see what little girl was 
asking for Edith. 

Anna came in quietly. " I am Anna Raymond,” she 
said. " I came to thank Edith for the lovely presents.” 

" I am afraid Edith is n’t strong enough to see you,” 
Mrs. Burns said. 


9 8 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 

" Let her go in and see Edith,” Mr. Burns said. " It 
may cheer her up, and she need n’t stay long.” 

" Yes,” said the auntie, " let her go.” 

Mrs. Burns touched a bell and a nurse came in. " This 
little girl is going to make a call on Edith. You must 
watch and not let her stay long enough to tire her.” 
Then, turning to Anna, she said, " You had better leave 
your coat in here, and your basket.” 

" If you don’t mind, I ’ll go in just as I am. I shan’t 
stay long and I have a little present to- show Edith.” 

" Oh, very well,” Mrs. Burns said, and when the door 
was closed, she turned to her sister, smiling. " I believe 
the child wants to show one of her presents to Edith.” 

When the door into Edith’s room was closed, Anna 
looked at the pale face on the pillow and choked up. She 
made an effort to smile and said : " I want to tell you 
how beautiful the Christmas box was that you sent me, 
and what a good time mother and I had opening it. I 
never had such a lovely doll before, and — ” 

A sharp little mew, mew was heard, and a yellow head 
bobbed up out of the basket held in Anna’s hands. 

" Oh, oh ! it ’s a kitty, a dear little, live kitty,” cried 
Edith, sitting up in bed. " Is it for me ? I love kittens 
and I have always wanted one. Give her to me. Put her 
in my arms. Oh, the darling ! ” 

Anna opened the basket and a yellow, fluffy ball leaped 
out and sprang upon Edith’s bed. The nurse exclaimed, 


DOCTOR KITTY 


99 


” O Miss Edith ! I don’t know what your mother will 
say,” but when she saw Edith’s face, she slipped quietly 
out of the room, leaving the children together. 

Fifteen minutes, then a half hour passed by. Nurse 
had peeped into the room several times, and now she 
thought it best to go to Mrs. Burns. Mr. and Mrs. Burns 
and the nurse went together to Edith’s room. Edith was 
sitting up in bed, looking like a different child. Anna was 
on a low stool near the bed. She had a bunch of cloth, 
made to look like a mouse, tied to a string and was 
tossing it about. A little ball of fur and fun was leaping 
in the air, rolling on the floor, turning somersaults, flying 
up on the bed and off again like a flash, and two chil- 
dren’s voices were heard in merry shouts of laughter. 

Edith looked up when her father and mother came in, 
and cried in a happy voice, " O papa, mamma, see my 
dear, darling kitty ! It is the very best Christmas present 
that I ever had in my life ! ” 

“It is a beautiful Christmas gift, dear,” Mrs. Burns 
said, stooping down and kissing Anna. “ Thank you a 
thousand times. My little girl must rest now, but you 
will come and play with her to-morrow, won’t you ? Y ou 
may leave Doctor Kitty. We will take good care of 
him.” That is how the big handsome cat that sits in a 
sunny window, watching for a girl with pink cheeks and 
bright eyes to come home from school, got his name of 
Doctor Kitty. 


OLD WATSON’S” VALENTINE 


T WO boys were in Mrs. Merrill’s sitting room, looking 
over valentines; their merry laughter attracted the 
attention of a pretty brown-eyed girl who was reading 
in a low rocking-chair by the open grate. She put her 

book down, arose, and, 
going up to the table, 
looked over the boys’ 
shoulders at a row of 
comic valentines laid 
out before them. 

" What ugly-looking 
things ! ” she said. " I 
don’t see what you 
want with them.” 

" We are going to 
have some fun St. Val- 
entine’s eve,” answered 
her brother. " Don’t you see whom this one looks like ? ” 
" No, I’m sure I don’t,” replied Alice. 

" It’s old Watson, the harness maker that lives over 
on B Street, old Watson and his cat, just true to life,” 
said Richard Way, laughing. 

IOO 



Tommie 




"OLD WATSON’S” VALENTINE ioi 

If it is old Watson, as you call him, I am very sure 
mamma would not like Edward to send that ugly picture 
to him, and I don’t believe your mother would think it 
was kind, Richard, either.” 

" Oh,” answered Richard, still laughing at the pictures, 
" my mother does n’t care what I do if I keep out of 
mischief.” 

" I call it mischief to send ugly valentines,” said Alice. 

" Oh, nonsense, Allie ! ” said her brother, roughly but 
not unkindly, " it ’s only fun.” 

" What is only fun ? ” asked a very pleasant voice, as 
a sweet-faced little lady came into the room. 

" Fun to send that ugly picture to a man the boys call 
* Old Watson,’ ” said Alice. 

"Old Watson?” said Mrs. Merrill, inquiringly. "Oh, 
yes, I know whom you mean. Poor Mr. Watson, the har- 
ness maker, who lives all alone with his cat in two little 
rooms on B Street. Yes, I know him. I stopped there last 
week to get him to fix the checkrein when I was out with 
the pony cart. He looked very pale, and when I asked 
him if he had been ill, he said he had suffered a good 
deal with rheumatism this winter, so that for several 
weeks he was n’t able to work. What is the fun you ex- 
pect to have with him, boys ? I hope it is something that 
will please him, for I think he has a pretty hard time.” 

" The boys sent him a lot of funny cards and valen- 
tines last year,” said Richard, slowly, "and he got so 


102 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


angry that he shouted at them and said he ’d complain 
of them.” 

"Do you think,” said Mrs. Merrill, very gently, "it 
would seem funny to you if you were an old man and 
had rheumatism to be called on a cold night to the door 
to receive a valentine like that? Just put yourself in his 
place, boys.” 

The boys evidently were doing some very hard think- 
ing, for neither of them spoke. 

" May I ask,” said Alice, pointing to the picture of a 
very ugly woman in a short skirt, a felt hat, and wearing 
spectacles, " whom that is intended for ? ” 

" Don’t you know that funny-looking woman who is 
on the street so much? I see her every day. She lives 
on Green Court,” said Edward, slowly. 

"Yes, I know her,” answered Mrs. Merrill; "I know 
her very well. She is a doctor, and gives nearly all her 
time to visiting the poor. She won’t mind the valentine 
one bit if it will make you boys very happy to send it 
to her, for her life is spent in trying to make people 
happy.” 

Edward crumpled up the valentine into a ball in his 
hand and threw it into the fire, and Richard took up the 
one intended for " Old Watson ” and treated it in the 
same way. 

" The others are for the boys,” said Edward, as he 
turned from the fire. 


"OLD WATSON’S” VALENTINE 103 

"That is better,” said his mother. "If it amuses you 
boys to send each other comic valentines, I’m sure it 
does not do one any harm, but what fun there is in 
sending them to grown people, particularly to the old 
and poor and lonely, I am not able to see.” 

" Nor I,” said Alice. 

"Well, I don’t know exactly myself what the fun is, 
only that we run, and hide, and laugh, and have a jolly 
time trying to knock at the door or ring the bell and 
get away before we are seen,” answered Edward. 

" Suppose you could do all that and make people happy 
instead of angry, would n’t there be more fun in it ? ” 
asked Mrs. Merrill. 

" Of course,” said both boys ; " but how can we ? ” 

" Let us sit down and talk it over,” said Mrs. Merrill. 
" I think I see a way for you to have a very good time 
St. Valentine’s eve without making any one unhappy. 
You shall carry poor Mr. Watson a valentine, and it will 
be one that will make him laugh as well as you.” 

" Oh, what, mamma ? ” cried Edward. 

"We will pack a basket of good things for him, and 
you boys can hang it on his door, knock, and run away 
as fast as you like.” 

" Good ! ” said Alice. " I ’ll help.” 

"And you may carry a valentine to the kind doctor 
too,” said Mrs. Merrill. " You can go to-morrow and buy 
some pretty valentine cards with a few words or a line of 


104 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


poetry on them, and I will get some other valentine 
gifts; then we will arrange them some pretty way in 
boxes, or baskets, or bags, and for all those you intended 
a comic valentine you can plan one a little different.” 

" We’ll do it,” cried the boys, joyfully, " and we won’t 
send any comic valentines at all. Here goes ” — and in a 
moment the valentines were all blazing brightly among 
the coals. 

It was the thirteenth of February and a very cold 
day. The wind whistled through the cracks of the little 
building where Mr. Watson had his two rooms. One, on 
the front, was his shop ; back of it was a larger room 
where the old man cooked, ate, and slept. It was seven 
o’clock, and he was sitting over the stove talking to his 
cat, that had jumped up on his knees. 

" Poor Tommie, I’m sorry for you. There isn’t any- 
thing for your supper but dry bread. I ’ll soak it in a 
little warm water, for you can’t eat dry bread much 
better than I can. Poor fellow, I wish I could take better 
care of you.” 

The cat stroked against the old man’s coat sleeve and 
mewed a little, as if he were answering back, and the old 
man spoke again. 

" It’s the darkest time I ever had. Not a cent in the 
house, and there is only a little dry bread left. Mr. Jones 
said he would pay me this week. Perhaps he ’ll come 


"OLD WATSON’S” VALENTINE 105 

to-night, but I don’t believe he will. I am afraid the 
boys will be banging at my door all the evening just 
as they did last year, and I will have to go for fear it 
might be a customer. Last year I got a bad cold by it. 
O dear! this is a hard world for a poor old man.” 

With a heavy sigh Mr. Watson got up and went to 
his empty closet. Only a half loaf there, dry and hard, 
but the old man was faint with hunger, and he brought 
it out and put it on the table ; then he poured some hot 
water into a mug, and a little into a saucer. It was a 
scanty meal for two. 

There was a knock at the street door, a sharp, sudden 
rap. " It’s those mischievous boys, I know. But it might 
be Mr. Jones, so I suppose I must go to the door.” 

He hobbled to the door and opened it. No one was in 
sight. As the door swung back something hit against his 
hand. It was a basket. 

" I won’t touch it ; there ’s some trick about it,” he 
said, and was closing the door when a young girl who 
was passing suddenly stepped up to the door. 

" Let me help you,” she said. And in a moment a 
covered basket was in his hand, and she had gone by. 

Mr. Watson took the basket in and set it on the table. 
He felt afraid to open it. Then Tom, the cat, jumped up 
suddenly from the chair onto the table and began to 
sniff at the basket and cry. Mr. Watson put him down 
and lifted the cover. 


106 FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 

There was a card on top, and some lines written on it. 
Mr. Watson read, 

Within this basket, friend of mine, 

Look, and you ’ll find your valentine. 

He lifted a white paper and found a mince pie, some 
sandwiches, and doughnuts, and under these a package 
of oatmeal, some eggs, and a can of salmon. 

Mr. Watson lifted his hands and his eyes to heaven, 
exclaiming, " Thank God ! that ’s the first good valen- 
tine I ever had in my life! Now we won’t starve.” 

He began joyfully to set the table for his supper, when 
he heard another knock and the sound of running feet. 
" That is boys, I know. I ’ve a good mind not to go.” 
But he looked at the basket and took courage. 

Opening the door again he saw that something was 
hanging on the knob. It was a box carefully tied up. 
He took it to the light and read, " Mr. Watson, from 
St. Valentine.” 

He opened it carefully; it was full of small packages. 
There were coffee, tea, a can of condensed milk, sugar, 
some biscuits, and a special little box, marked " Tom’s 
valentine,” contained some cut pieces of beef. 

Mr. Watson could hardly believe his good fortune. 
A happy thought came to him. "If it ’s the boys that 
have sent me this good valentine, I ’ll give them a 
chance to see how I enjoy it.” He drew up the shades 


"OLD WATSON’S" VALENTINE 107 

in the room he was in and in the front of the shop; 
after which he went to work setting out the good things 
on the table. 

It was later in the evening. Mr. Watson and Tommie 
had had a fine supper, and Tommie was purring before 
the stove when the knocks began again, and more valen- 
tine gifts arrived. By nine o’clock the table and the floor 
under it were covered with boxes, bags, and baskets, and 
the old man had enough provision to last him until 
spring. As the last package was delivered, the boys sent 
out a merry shout, " Good night!” and Mr. Watson 
shouted back, "God bless St. Valentine!” 

About nine o’clock that evening a crowd of rosy, laugh- 
ing boys were going home. As they passed Green Court, 
one of the boys said, " I wonder how the woman doctor 
liked her valentines.” 

If they could have looked in the little house down the 
court, they would have seen a plain-looking, spectacled 
woman bending over a beautiful bunch of flowers with a 
look of joy lighting up her pale, tired face, and they would 
have heard her say : " Who could have thought of doing 
me such a kindness! I came home tired and discour- 
aged, but these lovely gifts have revived me. I feel like 
another woman.” 

Then she began taking from several boxes and bas- 
kets, prettily tied up, grapes, oranges, apples, delicate 
little cakes and biscuits, and glasses of jelly, all the time 


io8 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


thinking of the suffering poor people whose sick rooms 
she would be able to gladden the next day. 

The boys stopped on a corner before they separated, 
and one said, " I am sure Mr. Watson was pretty hungry 
from the way he hurried to get his supper.” 

" Well, it’s the best fun I ever had on St. Valentine’s 
eve,” said another, " and I can see it ’s a lot better fun 
than stirring up people and making them angry with 
comic valentines. I propose we send a vote of thanks 
to Ned’s mother.” 

" Three cheers for Mrs. Merrill’s comic valentines ! ” 
said Richard, and all the boys gave a hearty shout, then 
ran singing down the street, full of the joy, the sweet- 
est in all the world, that making other people happy 
always brings. 


A HAPPY THANKSGIVING 

I 

I T was the night before Thanksgiving and cold enough 
for snow. The wind was blowing in sharp gusts, as if 
to drive every living creature into some shelter. 

In the dining room of a small city house a boy and a 
girl, Martin and Ruth Belton, were sitting. On one end 
of the dining table were a plate, cup, and saucer, set 
neatly upon a tray cloth ; on the other end were some 
books which the boy was studying. He got up every 
now and then to join his sister, who was looking out 
of the window. 

" Mother is late to-night,” he said at last, anxiously. " I 
think it is too bad to keep her so late the night before 
Thanksgiving.” 

" I suppose she is finishing a dress that somebody is 
going to wear to-morrow,” said Ruth. " Everybody but 
us seems to be going away or having company. We 
have nowhere to go and nobody to visit us.” 

"We shall be lucky,” said Martin, " if we have a Thanks- 
giving dinner. Mother said she could n’t afford much of 
a dinner unless she is paid to-night for her work.” 

109 


IIO 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


A gust of wind swept down the street just then and 
rattled the blinds. When it died out Ruth said: " Hark! 
I thought I heard a cat crying in the back yard. It 
may be that poor cat that we saw the other day running 
away from our garbage pail. I suppose she is cold and 
hungry. Mother thought that some family must have 
moved and left her. I am going to see if she is in the 
yard now.” 

Martin and Ruth looked out of the kitchen window 
into the back yard. In the moonlight they saw a cat 
crouching against the shed door, mewing pitifully. 

" She is asking us to let her in,” said Martin. " I will 
go and open the door.” 

"Let me go,” said Ruth. "Homeless cats and dogs 
are apt to be afraid of boys.” 

" I would n’t be so mean as to hurt a poor, hungry, 
homeless cat or dog,” said Martin. 

" I know you would n’t, but the cat does n’t know it. 
You get a saucer of bread and milk. I am sure mother 
would let us have it, and I will try to coax her in.” Say- 
ing this, Ruth went into the shed and opened the door 
very softly. 

The cat ran away a step or two, and mewed mourn- 
fully as she looked up into Ruth’s face. Ruth held the 
door open and stepped out of sight. She called gently, 
" Pussy, pussy,” and the cat came in, but she was ready 
to run if any one tried to catch her. 


A HAPPY THANKSGIVING 


1 1 1 



Martin opened the kitchen door a little way and 
handed Ruth the saucer of bread and milk. Ruth put 
the food on the floor, as far from the outside door as she 
could. With a look into Ruth’s kind face the starving 


The Thanksgiving Guest 

cat approached the saucer. She was so hungry and 
lapped so eagerly that Ruth had no trouble in closing 
the outside door. 

" Now we have her! Won’t mother be glad!” Ruth 
exclaimed. 


112 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


"And now we have a Thanksgiving visitor,” laughed 
Martin, as the two children went back into the kitchen 
and closed the door. 

" When mother comes,” said Ruth, " I think we can 
get her in here where it is warm. If we take her in now, 
she might run out when we open the door for mother. 
It is better for her to be in our shed than out of doors, 
and the bread and milk will do her good.” 

As the children were about to sit down the bell rang, 
and Martin and Ruth rushed to open the door. A slender 
little woman loaded with bundles stood on the threshold. 
The eager children dragged her into the hall, took her 
bundles, and led her into the warm dining room. 

" Dear mother, you are so late ! The kettle is boiling, 
and I will make the tea in a minute,” said Ruth. 

" And I will toast the bread/’ said Martin. 

" I have had a good supper, dears, but you may make 
a cup of tea for me, Ruth. I hope you had your supper 
long ago.” 

" Oh, yes, we had ours at six, as you told us. Let me 

take your hat and jacket, mamma. I know you are 

tired,” said Martin. 

" I am tired, but it rests me to come home to such 

dear, thoughtful children,” Mrs. Belton said. " I am 

happy too, because I was paid and can afford a good 
dinner for you to-morrow. After I have had my tea, 
you may help me stone raisins, pick over currants, and 


A HAPPY THANKSGIVING 


1 13 

make cranberry jelly. I will make a plum pudding for 
you this evening.” 

Ruth set the teapot on the table, and then helped 
Martin open packages of nuts, raisins, apples, oranges, 
cranberries, squash, and sweet potatoes. As they spread 
out the fruit and vegetables on the kitchen table, Ruth 
remembered the little stranger in the shed. 

" The poor pussy that you pitied so much is in our 
shed, mamma, but it is so cold there that I think you 
will want us to bring her in here,” said Ruth. 

" Oh, I am so glad, Ruth ! I have been thinking about 
the poor animals out in the cold to-night, with no one to 
feed them or give them shelter. I was wishing that I 
could get some of them, take them in, and give them a 
Thanksgiving dinner. I bought some meat on purpose 
to coax that very cat that you have taken in.” 

Mrs. Belton went out into the shed and found the 
cat crouching in one corner on an old mat. She cried 
when she saw Mrs. Belton and Ruth, but she did not 
move. " Run in and get that basket in the closet,” she 
said to Ruth. " Put the piece of blanket in it that I took 
off the ironing board yesterday. She needs a bed, and I 
am so thankful that you took her in.” 

In a moment Ruth came back with the basket. " That 
is a fine bed for her, mamma,” she said. 

" Put it on the floor, Ruth, and I will put pussy in it. 
Now we will carry her to the warm closet under the stairs. 


1 14 FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 

I will give her some supper before I go to bed, and I 
hope she will be all right in the morning.” 

II 

Thanksgiving morning was cloudy and cold. The chil- 
dren were up early, but when they came downstairs, they 
found their mother busy cooking good things for the day. 

" If we only were going to have some company,” said 
Ruth, " it would seem more like Thanksgiving. But we 
can have a good time anyway, because we will all be 
together.” 

"We have some company, my dears,” Mrs. Belton said 
cheerfully ; " we have three Thanksgiving guests.” 

" Where are they ? ” Ruth asked. 

Mrs. Belton opened the closet door wide, and a loud 
purring was heard. " Come here and take a little peep,” 
she said. There in the basket was the homeless cat, her 
eyes full of mother love as she washed two of the sweetest 
little kittens that the children had ever seen. 

" Oh, mother, are n’t they cunning ? How thankful I 
am that we took her in last night ! ” cried Ruth. 

"The little kittens would have died,” said Mrs. Belton, 
" if you had not listened to the poor creature’s cry for 
help, and perhaps the mother would have died, too.” 

" I do not see how people can be so cruel as to desert 
a cat or a dog, or how they can turn one away from 
their door ! ” 


A HAPPY THANKSGIVING 115 

" Now, children, I am going to ask you to invite 
another guest. You know deaf Mrs. Bruce who has a 
room on the third floor is old and very lonely. I found 
out that she was going to be alone to-day, and I would 
like to invite her to take dinner with us at five o’clock 
this afternoon. That is the lonesome time, when it is 
growing dark, and one has been alone all day. Would 
you like it ? ” 

Neither of the children spoke for a moment, then Ruth 
said : " If I were deaf, and poor, and old, I would like to 
have some one invite me to dinner. It won’t be quite so 
jolly for us, though.” 

"And you, Martin,” asked Mrs. Belton; "what do 
you say ? ” 

" If you and Ruth say so, I would like it, too.” 

" Then I will write a note and send it up by you, 
Ruth, and you may wait for an answer.” 

Mrs. Belton sent the note, and Ruth came back, 
smiling, and said : " She was so glad that she thanked 
me over and over again. She sent you this note.” 

The note said, " You are very kind and thoughtful, 
and I accept with pleasure.” 

"We ’ll have a party, after all,” said Ruth, " Mrs. Bruce 
and Mrs. Pussy with her two babies.” 

It was a happy day for all, and after a good dinner 
Mrs. Bruce told them interesting stories of the pets 
she had had when she was a little girl. 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


1 1 6 

"It has been such a happy day,” said Ruth, when 
Mrs. Bruce had left them. " Martin and I thought we 
should n’t have any Thanksgiving at all.” 

" The reason why we have all enjoyed the day so much 
is because we were giving happiness as well as receiving 
it,” said Mrs. Belton. 

The children stepped softly to the closet door and 
looked in a moment upon mother Pussy. She was 
purring happily, while two little heads rested on her 
warm, loving heart. 

" Good night, dear pussy ! Good night, dearest mother,” 
the children said, as they went smiling up to bed. 


JOCKO’S MISSION 


H ELEN and Willie Marston were just getting over 
the measles. It was warm and pleasant October 
weather, but they were not yet allowed to go downstairs. 
Their mother had been obliged to leave them for a few 
hours, but Helen was so careful of her four-year-old 
brother that it was safe to leave her 
in charge. A table was in a sunny 
bay window, and here Helen and 
her little brother were playing with 
Willie’s box of blocks. 

Helen had just arranged the 
blocks for a bridge, when Willie 
was attracted by the sound of a 
hand organ. 

" O Helen,” he said, " it is the 
monkey man ! I am sure it is the man with the little 
monkey he calls Jocko. I want to see the dear little 
monkey dance and take off his cap. Come and look 
out of the front window.” 

" We mustn’t, Willie, for the front window is open. 
Mamma said we must not go near it. Don’t you re- 
member what Katie told us? She is sure that this man 



Jocko 


1 1 8 FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 

lives near her sister. He is an Italian, and he calls his 
monkey Jocko. He beats him and treats him cruelly to 
make him do tricks. I don’t feel as if I wanted to see 
him again.” 

" But I do ! ” persisted Willie. " I want to see the 
monkey. I don’t want to see the bad man.” 

"Willie, dear, listen. You know that we are little 
soldiers, and mamma is our captain. Don’t you want 
to be a good soldier, Willie, when the captain is away? ” 

"Yes,” Willie said slowly, " I do, but I do wish I could 
see the monkey.” 

Just as he said this, Helen cried out : " O Willie, look ! 
the monkey has come to see you.” 

Willie turned to the front window. There on the 
window seat sat a little, shivering black monkey in a red 
jacket and plumed hat. He looked at the children in a 
sad way, as if he were saying, " Look at me ! see how 
cold and hungry and tired I am, and take pity on me ! ” 

The children stood still, looking at him. They were 
too much surprised to speak. The little monkey came 
forward, politely taking off his hat. 

Just then a shrill whistle was heard outside — a 
sound which little Jocko seemed to dread, for he fled 
toward the children and hid behind Helen’s chair. 

Helen took the little creature in her arms and sat 
down, and Willie began to pat the funny black face 
which looked so babylike. 


JOCKO’S MISSION 


1 19 

" O Helen, how he does shake ! What can we do for 
him ? ” asked Willie. 

" I think it would be a good plan to give him some 
warm milk. He seems very cold, and I dare say he is 
hungry,” said Helen. 

"He is all dusty too. He ought to have a warm bath. 
I ’ll tell you what to do, Helen. We will give him a nice 
bath in the little tub. Won’t that be a splendid idea! ” 

"Yes, I think this poor little thing must have a chill, 
he shakes so. We will give him a warm bath. You hold 
him, Willie, while I get it ready.” 

They placed the tub near the open fire on the mat. 
Helen took Jocko and unfastened his little red jacket. 
She was so gentle that the little creature seemed to 
understand that no harm was meant. Helen gave a 
cry when his back was bare, for there were marks of 
cruel blows. 

"O Willie,” she cried, "it must be the Jocko that 
Katie told about ! I am sure of it now, for see where he 
has been whipped ! I am glad he ran away, and I am 
glad he came here to us.” 

"We will never, never give him up, will we?” said 
Willie, with tears in his eyes. 

" I hope not. I ’ll ask papa to buy him,” answered 
Helen. 

When Jocko was put in the tub, he seemed very 
much astonished and tried to jump out. As Helen softly 


120 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


sponged him in the warm water, he made up his mind 
that he liked it, and made such funny faces that the 
children were much amused. 

Helen was a wise little nurse, and the bath was a short 
one. While she was drying Jocko on a soft towel, Willie 
put milk in a saucepan and held it over the fire. They 
gave it to Jocko in a little tin cup, which he held in one 
of his hands. In the other hand he held a seedcake, 
and he began to eat and drink as if he were enjoying 
himself. 

If Jocko could have told them that his master had 
given him no breakfast, they would have pitied him 
more than ever. 

" Now he has had his bath and his luncheon, he must 
be put to bed. Perhaps he will get a nice nap, and wake 
up feeling better,” said Willie. " I ’ll fix his bed.” 

Willie brought out a basket, even warming the blanket 
that Jocko was to lie upon. Then he put him in the 
basket and covered him up — all but his little black 
head. Jocko was ready enough to get into the warm 
basket, and he settled down and closed his eyes. 

Helen and Willie sat by his side and watched him, 
keeping as quiet as if he had been a little baby. In a 
few moments he was asleep. 

When the door opened and Mrs. Marston appeared, 
they were quite startled. They hurried toward her on 
tiptoe, making signs for her to be very quiet. 


JOCKO’S MISSION 


I 2 1 


"O mamma, don’t make any noise,” they said in a 
whisper ; " you will wake him up ! ” 

" Wake up what? your doll? Why!” she exclaimed, 
as she saw a little black head in the basket, " what 
have you here ? ” 

Helen turned back the quilt for her mother to see. 

"A monkey ! Where did it come from ? Who brought 
it here ? ” 

" O dear, he has waked up, mamma,” said Willie. 
" He had just got into such a nice sleep after his bath.” 

"Tell me, Helen, what it all means,” she said. 

Helen told her mother all about the monkey’s com- 
ing through the open window, and his wish to escape 
from his master. When she showed the marks of blows 
on his back, Mrs. Marston was full of sympathy for 
little Jocko. 

When the doctor came home, the whole story was told 
again. After he heard the story, Doctor Marston agreed 
to buy the monkey, and the next day set out to find the 
owner. The man was not to be found anywhere, so 
Jocko became a member of Doctor Marston’s family. 

It was a cold autumn, and a severe winter followed. 
It was some time before Willie recovered from the 
measles, and he had no desire to go out of doors. If it 
had not been for Jocko, it would have been difficult to 
get him out at all. 


122 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


When a warm day came, Doctor Marston would say: 
" Now, Willie, you must go out in the carriage to-day. 
You must wrap Jocko up and take him with you.” 

Willie would look out of the window and shiver, and 
say, " I don’t care about going out, papa, but if you think 
Jocko needs it, I will go for his sake.” 

Jocko and Willie were almost always together. When 
the weather was bad and Willie was in the house for days, 
Jocko never left him. He followed him like a shadow, 
and rode upstairs and down on his shoulder, clinging 
to his neck or holding on with his little black paw to 
Willie’s curls. 

He and Willie played ball together; they knocked 
down ninepins and built houses with Willie’s blocks. 
When Helen gave a little party to a few of her play- 
mates, Jocko entertained them. 

It was comical to see him sitting up in a little high 
chair, dressed in his pretty blue flannel jacket, eating and 
drinking with the children. He knew how to pass his 
cup, use a napkin, and bow politely when he was waited on. 

The long, cold winter months passed, and Willie and 
Jocko played happily together. 

Just as winter was nearly over, an epidemic broke out 
in the town, and Willie was taken ill. The day after he 
was taken, Jocko came down with the same symptoms. 
The two lay side by side, Willie on his little bed and 
Jocko in his basket. 


JOCKO’S MISSION 


I23 


When Willie refused his medicine, he was told to see 
how well Jocko took his spoonful. Willie would then 
take his. When he was restless and wished to get up, 
his mother would point to Jocko, lying so patiently in 
his basket. Willie would put his hot hand on Jocko’s 
back and lie still again. 

One night the father and mother watched by Willie’s 
bed, and just at dawn Doctor Marston whispered : " He 
is much better. He will get well.” 

Just then Willie opened his eyes and smiled and asked 
for a drink of milk. As he drank it, he pointed to Jocko 
and said, "Give him some, too, papa.” Jocko drank the 
milk ; then both fell into a sound sleep. 

Before long Willie was out of his bed, and Jocko out 
of his basket. 

During the summer the people of a New Hampshire 
village were interested in the arrival of a new kind of 
summer boarder. It was a very funny little monkey, 
who came with the Marston family. 


BERTHA’S CHOICE 


B ERTHA and Elsie Green sat on hassocks, watching 
a frolic going on before them. The actors in the 
play were Dolly Scratchett and her four little kittens — 
Whitefoot, Snowball, Beauty, and Buff. 

There was another kitten, sitting on one side looking 
on and not playing with the others. That was Peg — 
the odd one of the family. The children were sorry 
that Dolly Scratchett should have such a homely little 
kitten, and they seldom noticed her at all. 

Bertha and Elsie had laughed until they were tired at 
the kittens’ antics, when Bertha stopped laughing and 
said : " O dear ! I wish I knew which one to keep. Four 
of them are going to good homes where they will be treated 
kindly. Mamma won’t give them away where they will be 
teased or half fed. Everybody is glad to get one of Dolly 
Scratchett’s kittens, they are always so handsome and 
smart. I must choose the one that I want to keep for 
myself. It is very hard, because they are all so pretty.” 
"All but Peg,” said Elsie. 

" Oh, yes, all but Peg. I forgot all about Peg. I don’t 
believe anybody will want her, she is so homely,” said 
Bertha, as she looked pityingly at Peg. 

124 



BERTHA’S CHOICE 125 

Dolly Scratchett had grown sleepy and closed her eyes 
for a minute, though her long black tail waved gently to 
and fro. The four kittens made a spring, and all fell 
upon their mother, one biting her ears, another lying 
across her back, and two more chasing her tail. With 


Dolly Scratchett’s Family 

a growl up jumped the mother, overturning the kittens, 
and walked out of the room. 

Bertha and Elsie laughed until Elsie fell off her 
hassock to the floor. Bertha scolded the kittens for ill- 
treating their poor mother, and just then Mrs. Green 
appeared, smiling to see her children so happy. 


126 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


" Children, it is time for supper ; so carry the kittens 
downstairs,” she said. 

This was more easily said than done, but after much 
chasing, the kittens were collected, all but Peg, who had 
walked downstairs by herself. 

Supper was over, the children in bed, and it was grow- 
ing late in the evening, but Mr. and Mrs. Green still sat 
in the warm, cozy sitting room. 

"It is such a cold night,” said Mrs. Green, " that I 
dread to leave this warm room.” 

" It is an unusually cold night,” said her husband, " and 
the wind is very high. I must go down cellar and look 
after the furnace. I would n’t want to run any chance 
of a fire on such a night as this.” 

"Ask Kate to leave the kitchen door open, when she 
goes to bed,” said Mrs. Green. Mr. Green answered, and 
then went down cellar. 

Mrs. Green followed him as far as the kitchen. Katie 
was there sewing, and the room was very hot. Before the 
stove Dolly Scratchett and her kittens were stretched 
out, enjoying the heat. 

" Why, Katie, you have n’t put the kittens in the shed, 
yet,” she said. 

" Indeed, Mrs. Green, it is such a cold night that I 
am afraid they will freeze out there. I set a pail of water 
out there and it is frozen solid,” said Katie. 

"It does seem cruel to take them out of this warm 


BERTHA’S CHOICE 


127 


room. The change would be so great,” said Mrs. Green. 
" You may bring their bed in here, and put it over under 
the table. I wanted the kitchen door left open, but I am 
afraid that they will run upstairs in the night.” 

" They will be only too glad to stay where it is warm,” 
said Katie. " Cats like heat better than people.” 

Mrs. Green left the kitchen and went upstairs. Katie 
put some coal in the range and went to her room. She 
did not notice, as she slammed on the covers of the range, 
that the jar had opened a lower door, and that a bright 
red cinder had snapped out upon the floor. 

The house was soon quiet, and everybody was fast 
asleep. The kittens slept soundly in their warm bed, all 
but one — that was Peg. Peg was uneasy; she stirred, 
sniffed, sneezed, and then sat up. 

What was that smell in the room? Sometimes Katie 
cooked beefsteak, and that made a smoke and a smell, 
but Peg liked that. This was different. What was that 
bright red spot on the floor that glowed like a lamp? It 
was a queer place for Katie to leave a lamp. 

Peg sneezed again, and her eyes began to water. 

" I don’t like this at all,” she said to herself. " I think 
I would rather be out in the shed. I will go and see if I 
can get out.” 

Peg jumped out of the box and pattered along on her 
velvet paws to the door that led to the shed. 

"Shut! I can’t get out there. I will try another door 


128 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


and see if I can’t get upstairs. Phew, how I do sneeze ! ” 
She found this door open and ran upstairs in a hurry, 
to escape from the dreadful smell. She stopped at the 
bedroom door, and finding it closed, she set up a wail. 

"Mew, mew , mew ! Do let me in. I can’t stay here.” 
There was no answer, and Peg’s wail grew into a howl. 

" Meow meow , meow ! Oh, I 
must get in ! Open the door.. 
Please do ! ” 

Mrs. Green had heard the 
first cry, but she had kept still, 
hoping that the kitten would 
get tired and go away. At 
last she called her husband 
and said, " Do carry that 
kitten downstairs, for I am 
afraid that she will wake the 
children.” 

" Oh, what a bother she is ! ” 
said Mr. Green, as he lighted 
a candle. When he opened the door he forgot all about 
the kitten, but he said quietly to Mrs. Green: " Now 
dress yourself quickly. I am afraid there is a fire some- 
where. I will come back in a minute and tell you.” 

Mrs. Green began to dress herself hurriedly. She was 
just going to awaken the children when her husband 
opened the door and came in smiling. 



Peg 



BERTHA’S CHOICE 


129 


"It is all over now. I put it out with a few pails of 
water. Thanks to that kitten, it had n’t got much head- 
way. If it had, nothing could have saved us on such a 
night as this. I wish I knew which kitten it was that 
saved us,” Mr. Green said, just as he was dropping off to 
sleep ; " I would n’t part with it for a great deal.” 

The next morning both Mr. and Mrs. Green slept later 
than usual. They were aroused by a shout from the next 
room, where their little girls slept. 

" O mamma ! O papa ! do come in here. Peg is on 
the foot of our bed sound asleep. How do you suppose 
she got upstairs ? ” 

After breakfast Mr. Green told the children of the 
night’s adventure and their escape from fire. When he 
got through, Bertha ran out into the kitchen, caught up 
Peg, and brought her into the dining room. 

She put her into her mother’s lap and said : "You asked 
me yesterday, mamma, which kitten I wanted to keep for 
myself. I could n’t decide then, but I have chosen now. 
I will keep Peg.” 


FRANCESCO’S SACRIFICE 


HE sun was shining on the beautiful Bay of Naples 



X on a May afternoon. A great steamer from across 
the ocean had come into the bay, and the boys were going 
out in boats to meet the big ship. 

These boys leaped from their boats like little frogs, to 
catch the coins which passengers on the steamer threw 
into the water. 

Among the many boys who earned money that way, 
Francesco was the quickest. He could dive the deepest, 
and stay under water longer than any other boy. 

Sometimes he earned as much as one lira 1 in a week. 
His mother put it safely away for him, for Francesco’s 
uncle was going to take him into his fruit shop when he 
had money enough to buy a share in the business. 

Francesco told his mother that he did not want to 
work with his uncle. When his mother asked him why, 
he hung his head and did not answer. He thought his 
mother would laugh if she knew it was because his uncle 
beat Neddy, the poor little donkey that worked hard for 
him all day. 


1 A lira is about twenty cents. " Lire ” is the plural of " lira. 1 
130 


FRANCESCO’S SACRIFICE 


131 

Neddy was a patient little donkey and had worked for 
many years. He was growing gray around the nose, and 
his little feet were often sore and tired. Sometimes when 
his legs felt stiff he could not start at once, after the 
heavy baskets were swung over his back. Then his mas- 
ter would beat him, and this was what made Francesco 
so unhappy. 

" Poor old 
Neddy,” he 
would say to 
himself, " per- 
haps he may 
be sick to- 
day, or per- 
haps uncle 
has forgotten 
to give him 
any water.” 

Francesco did not dare to talk with his uncle about 
Neddy, for fear that he might be angry and beat the 
little donkey harder. 

He often managed to put Neddy in his shed at night, 
and give him water and some treat for his supper. Some- 
times it was lettuce from his own garden, sometimes a 
carrot, an apple, or a lump of sugar. 

He loved Neddy, and Neddy showed in every way 
that he could how much he loved F'rancesco. 



Neddy and Francesco’s Uncle 


132 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


In order to earn money, Francesco did other things 
that his mother liked better than diving for coppers. He 
ran errands; he carried bags for tourists; he sold post 
cards. He was always trying to earn enough money to 
have a fruit stand of his own ; then he would, not need 
to work with his uncle. 

One day Francesco came running to his mother and 
said : " Beppo is going to sell his fruit stand. He is 
going to America. If I can pay him forty lire before next 
month, I can own it. Let ’s count my money together 
and see how much I have.” 

They counted, and found that he had thirty lire. 

" I am sure I can earn the rest, mother. I will work 
every minute,” said Francesco. 

" I will help you,” said his mother. 

" I will help, too,” said his sister. 

Francesco went to bed that night a very happy boy. 
“ In only four weeks I shall have a business of my own,” 
he thought. " Mother shall not work so hard then, for 
she is growing old.” 

Suddenly he thought of old Neddy — how thin and 
starved looking he was, how he was beaten, heavily 
loaded, and often hungry. 

The next few weeks were busy ones for Francesco. 
He found many chances to earn money — carrying bags 
or running errands. 


FRANCESCO’S SACRIFICE 


33 


The last week came, and he needed only two lire more 
to make him the owner of the fruit stand. 

One day when he was going home he met his friend 
Antonio. 

" Did you know,” said Antonio, " that your uncle is 
going to sell Neddy?” 

" No,” answered Francesco; " I did not know it, but I 
am glad, for I hope he will get a kinder master.” 

" He won’t,” said Antonio, " for Andrew Baldi is going 
to buy him, and you know how cruel he is to his donkeys.” 

" Why does my uncle want to sell Neddy ? If he would 
give him food and treat him kindly, he could work some 
years longer. His teeth are bad and he can’t chew the 
coarse hay, and often my uncle forgets to give him any 
water,” said Francesco. 

"Well,” said Antonio, "a boy told me that Neddy 
had a heavy load on yesterday, and he stumbled and fell. 
They had to take his load off before he could get up, and 
your uncle was so angry that he beat Neddy, and the 
donkey kicked him. Then your uncle said that he would 
sell Neddy as quick as he could get anybody to buy him. 
He met Andrew Baldi, who told him that he would give 
him twenty-five lire if he could borrow the money by 
to-night.” 

"He shan’t have him,” said Francesco. " Neddy is 
always kind when I drive him. He would n’t kick if he 
hadn’t been cruelly treated. It is hurry, hurry, hurry, all 


134 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


the time, just as fast as he can go, and he never has a 
kind word said to him.” 

Francesco stopped, with his eyes flashing and his 
cheeks very red. The boys walked along slowly a little 
way, then Francesco began to walk quickly up a side 
street. 

" Where are you going ? ” asked Antonio. 

" I ’m going to see Neddy,” Francesco answered. " I 
don’t know what good it will do, but I must see him.” 

In a dark and dirty shed poor little Neddy lay on the 
hard boards. He had no bedding, no water, and no food. 
He was lame and sore all over his poor little body from 
the hard beating his master had given him. 

No one had been near him all day, but as he lay on 
the floor he heard footsteps, and he pricked up his long 
ears. Was he to get another beating? Could it be that 
some one was bringing him food and water? He raised 
his head and listened. 

" I hope it is something to eat, but I am afraid,” he 
thought. In a moment he knew the footsteps and brayed 
a feeble call for help. 

On the way to the shed Francesco had stopped and 
got a loaf of bread. " Neddy likes bread soaked in water 
or goat’s milk,” he told Antonio. 

The boys found Neddy lying on the floor, too lame 
and stiff to get on his feet. 


FRANCESCO’S SACRIFICE 


135 


"Oh, this is cruel!” said Francesco. " I must get a 
pail of water somewhere.” 

When the water was brought, the boys helped Neddy 
to his feet, and he drank as if nearly dying of thirst. 
Then they gave him little pieces of bread soaked in 
water, until he had eaten the whole loaf. 

It was quite late in the afternoon when Francesco, 
sitting in the doorway with his mother and sister, saw 
his uncle coming down the street. He went to meet 
him and said, " I want to ask you not to sell Neddy to 
Andrew Baldi, who is so cruel.” 

" The rascal deserves a cruel master. He fell down on 
purpose, and then kicked me,” said his uncle. 

"O, uncle,” cried Francesco, "he stumbled because 
you put too many things on his back, and he is getting 
old. And he kicked you because you hurt him.” 

" Why don’t you buy him yourself if you pity him so 
much ? I ’ll sell him if I can get even twenty lire for 
him,” said his uncle, angrily. 

Francesco looked at his mother. He turned red and 
then pale. " Mother,” he said, " give me twenty lire, 
please.” 

Then he said to his uncle, "You say you’ll sell him 
for twenty lire. I ’ll give you the money now and go 
with you and get him.” 

Francesco’s mother got his money for him, and he 
put it into his uncle’s hand. 


136 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


" I have worked hard and earned this money,” Fran- 
cesco said, "and next week I was going to buy Beppo’s 
fruit stand. But I must save Neddy.” 

" You,” said his uncle, " you were going to buy that 
stand and go into business for yourself ! ” 

"Yes, sir, I had all the money but two lire. I was 
going to see Beppo to-night. He knew about it and 
saved the stand for me.” 

" And you are silly enough to give that up to buy a 
cross old donkey ! ” said the old man. 

By this time they had entered the shed, and the poor 
donkey was lying stretched out on the floor. It was a 
sad sight. 

Francesco stroked his nose very gently. 

" You ’ll have to help me get him up,” he said. "After 
he is up, I think I can get him as far as our shed. I will 
make a good bed for him, and bathe and rub his legs. 
He has suffered a great deal to-day.” 

" I did n’t feed him this morning, and I forgot to give 
him water. Has he had any? ” asked the old man. 

" Yes, I gave him a pailful this afternoon, and I fed 
him a little bread soaked in water,” replied Francesco. 

" Perhaps you had better leave him here to-night,” 
the old man said. " I suppose I can put some straw 
under him and give him his supper.” 

Then he stood still and looked at Francesco. 

" Boy,” he said, " I ’m going to tell you that you have 



Neddy with his Friends 


J 3 7 


138 FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 

made me feel ashamed. Here’s your money back. Go 
and get your fruit stand, and I ’ll help you to run it. You 
can have all the help that N eddy can give you. I bought 
another stronger donkey to-day, and you may help me 
take care of him, to pay for Neddy.” 

Francesco could not speak, but he did what was bet- 
ter than words. He put his arms around his uncle’s neck 
and kissed him. Then he ran home as fast as he could 
to tell the happy news to his mother and sister. 


HENRY AND JANET 


O N a pleasant farm in Vermont there lived a man 
and his wife, who had no children. 

There was a large barn on the farm for the horses 
and cows, and in a sunny place behind the barn there 
was a little house for the pigs. 

Two dogs guarded the house and the barn, and in the 
house was a beautiful cat. 

In spite of all their animals, Mr. and Mrs. Dale were 
often lonesome. They wished to see the bright faces 
and hear the happy voices of children. They wished they 
had either a boy or a girl to enjoy farm life with them. 
Mr. Dale wanted a boy, but Mrs. Dale said she would 
rather have a girl. 

"A boy,” she said, " would be apt to chase the cows, 
and whip the good old farm horse, or frighten the hens. 
A boy might be good to the dogs, but he would tease 
the cat and make her unhappy, or he might throw stones 
at the birds.” 

Mr. Dale did not think so. He said that many boys 
were as kind to animals and birds as girls were. There 
were sometimes cruel girls as well as cruel boys. 

Finally, Mr. Dale decided to go to the city and get a 

139 


140 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 



On the Farm 

boy and a girl from an orphans’ home. They would keep 
the one they liked best. After a good visit, the other 
could go back to the city. 

One beautiful June day Mr. Dale drove home from 
the station with two children — one, a boy about nine 


HENRY AND JANET 


14 



years old, and the other, a girl not quite eight. One of 
them he hoped to keep for his own. 

Mr. Dale thought he would be able in a week or two 
to tell whether or not the children loved animals and 
birds, but it did not take him so long as that to find out. 


Henry, Janet, and Prince 

Both the children were very quiet as they drove to 
Mr. Dale’s home. Henry spoke once and said, "This is 
a nice horse, is n’t he ? ” 

" Yes,” said Mr. Dale ; "would you like to drive him ? ” 
" I don’t know how to drive now,” said Henry, " but I 
should like to learn.” 


142 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


When they drove into the yard, both dogs, Prince and 
Skippy, ran to meet them. Mr. Dale looked at the 
children as he took them out of the wagon, to see if 
they were afraid, but they were both smiling. Janet, 
the little girl, patted Skippy’s head, and Henry put his 
arm around Prince’s neck. 

" May I help you unharness the horse ? ” Henry asked. 
" If you ’ll show me how, I can unbuckle some of the 
straps.” 

He followed Mr. Dale into the barn, patting first the 
horse and then Prince. 

" Is n’t this a grand barn!” he said. " Do you keep 
any cows here ? I should like to take care of cows, I 
know. I would be very kind to them and never make 
them run.” 

" You may go down to the pasture with me by and by,” 
said Mr. Dale, "and help me drive them home. But we 
must go into the house and see Mrs. Dale first.” 

Janet was in the house all this time with Goldie the cat 
in her lap, and Skippy was rubbing his head against her. 

Mrs. Dale looked very happy. She was saying to 
herself: " This is the child for us. What a comfort she 
will be ! ” 

Mr. Dale came in with Henry, and Prince was at 
his heels. Mrs. Dale expected to see Goldie run and 
hide at sight of a boy, but Henry put one hand gently 
on Goldie’s head and held out the other to Mrs. Dale. 


HENRY AND JANET 


M3 


He said, " You have the most beautiful dogs and cat that 
I have ever seen.” 

Mr. and Mrs. Dale looked at each other and smiled. 

At supper, 
when the two 
children sat 
down to the 
table, Prince 
placed him- 
self behind 
Henry’s chair, 
while Skippy 
lay at the 
feet of Janet. 

Goldie sat in 
a chair near 
his mistress, 
and now and 
then reached 
out a yellow 
paw to touch 
Henry on the 
arm. Later in 

the evening the dogs and the cat went out of doors. 

When it was bedtime for the children, Janet went to 
the window. Mrs. Dale was curious and asked her if 
she wanted anything. 



Goldie 


144 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


Janet said she was looking for Goldie, and asked, " Do 
Skippy and Goldie stay out all night? Prince is so big 
that nothing could happen to him. I should be afraid to 
let the others stay out for fear they might get hurt.” 

"Shall I go and call them?” asked Henry. 

" You may if you like,” said Mrs. Dale, "but Skippy and 
Goldie always come in before I go to bed, and Prince 
sleeps in the barn.” 

Mr. and Mrs. Dale did not say much about the chil- 
dren that night. 

They were all up early the next morning. Both chil- 
dren were in the large hen yard, feeding the hens and 
chickens before breakfast. It seemed as if they had 
always lived there. 

They came in to breakfast rosy and happy, and Henry 
said : " O Mrs. Dale ! when we were feeding the chickens, 
a dear little bird came close to us. We were so afraid 
he would fly away that we held our breath, did n’t we, 
Janet ? ” 

" Yes, indeed we did,” said Janet. 

" Perhaps if we go there every morning, he will get 
tame enough to eat out of our hands. Do you think he 
would, Mrs. Dale? ” 

" Perhaps so,” she answered with a smile. 

That day Henry watered the horse and fed the pigs. 
He drove the cows to pasture without making them run. 
Janet wiped the dishes and made the beds. She fed 


HENRY AND JANET 


145 


Goldie and scattered crumbs in the yard for the birds. 
Both children were busy and happy all day. 

After the children had gone to bed, Mr. and Mrs. Dale 
sat on their cool porch. They could hear the frogs in the 
meadow and the crickets in the field. 

"Which one do you want to keep?” Mr. Dale asked 
at last. " Janet would be a great help to you as she 
grows older.” 

"Yes,” said 
Mrs. Dale, "but 
the boy would 
be a help to you. 

We need one 
on the farm.” 

" I wish that 
we could keep 
both with us,” 

Mr. Dale said. 

" I hope they 
will not have 
to be separated. They are brother and sister.” 

Mrs. Dale laughed. " Skippy, I will leave it to you,” 
she said. " What do you say about it ? ” 

Skippy barked twice so loudly that two little figures in 
white crept downstairs, and asked what was the matter. 

" Nothing,” said Mr. Dale. " Kiss your new mother 
and run back to bed again.” 



Skippy 


A CHRISTMAS PARTY 


I T was the afternoon before Christmas, and although it 
was not late, the street lamps and stores were lighted. 
Snow was beginning to fall — a heavy, drifting snow that 
drove even the eager shoppers home as fast as they 
could hurry. 

Down in a tenement-house district, on a corner of a 
street, Miss Abby’s little bakeshop was filled. There 
were women with shawls pinned over their heads, hold- 
ing out tin cans to be filled with milk for their babies. 
There were men with dinner pails, stopping to buy a loaf 
of bread or a mince pie for supper, or to get a bottle filled 
with hot coffee. 

Miss Abby took great pains to have good coffee. She 
believed that if the men would come there to drink it or 
to fill their bottles with it, it would keep them from the 
drinks that took their senses away. 

There were children with pennies tightly held in blue, 
cold hands, waiting their turn to buy the little frosted 
cakes or the gingerbread animals that Miss Abby sold. 

The little shop was a cheerful place, full of tempting 
rolls and cakes and pies. It was no wonder that the chil- 
dren spent their pennies at Miss Abby’s bakeshop. She 

146 


A CHRISTMAS PARTY 


147 


was always kind and patient with them, and often gave 
the poorest children rolls or loaves of bread that they 
could not pay for, or a cup of hot cocoa or milk. She 
had some loving little friends among the children. As 
she went to the window to get a Christmas plum pud- 
ding for a customer, she saw one of her young friends 
standing outside in the snow, looking in at the window. 
She smiled at the boy and motioned for him to come in. 
The boy came in and went to a seat behind the stove, 
where he waited until the last customer went away. 
Then he went up to the counter and, holding out a 
handful of pennies, said, " I ’ll have to get my supper 
here to-night.” - 

Miss Abby buttered a roll, cut a thin slice of cheese, 
and poured out a mug of hot cocoa. 

" Have you sold all your papers ? ” she asked. 

"Yes, I had good luck to-day, and I was going to try 
to have a family party for Nellie and Kate, but it is no 
use,” he said. " Father is drinking again.” 

"Where are Nellie and Kate?” Miss Abby asked 
anxiously. 

" Oh, they are at home. Father won’t hurt them, but 
Nellie told me to get my supper here to-night. There is 
no use trying to have any Christmas party, you see.” 

A tear rolled down the boy’s cheek. Miss Abby saw it 
and sighed. All she could do was to give him a good 
supper and make him take it as a Christmas gift. 


148 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 



After supper Horace went out for about half an hour. 
When he came back his eyes were bright and shining, 
and he looked as if something good had happened to 
him. Before Miss Abby could ask him any questions, 

he spoke. 

" I want 
some bread, 
Miss Abby, 
and milk, 
hot milk if 
you have it ; 
and could 
you give me 
a box and 
some rags 
to make a 
bed of for 
some little 


Fairy 


puppies r 


" Why, my dear boy, what do you mean ? Y ou have n’t 
any little puppies out in this snow, I hope,” she said. 

" No, but 1 must hurry, for she is starving, I am afraid, 
and they will freeze on the cold floor.” 

" Horace ! what are you talking about ? I don’t know 
what you mean,” said Miss Abby. 

" I was just a little way from here,” said Horace, " when 
I heard a whining noise, oh, so sad, and something 



A CHRISTMAS PARTY 


149 


brushed against me. I stooped down, and there was a 
little dog. She stood up on her hind legs, put her little 
paws on me, then ran on, and came back, until I knew 
she wanted me to follow. So I went after her, and she 
kept looking back. Just around the corner is an empty 
house — ” 

" Yes, I know,” said Miss Abby. 

" Well, she tried to push open the back gate, but the 
snow was against it, and she was n’t strong enough. I 
opened it for her, and in she ran. The back door was 
broken open and she went in. I followed and heard little 
puppies crying. She ran to them and then back to me. 
I knew she was asking me for food, so I came back here 
as fast as I could to get something for them. I want to 
make a bed for them. Will you help me ? ” 

" Indeed I will,” said Miss Abby, heartily. "It is good 
work for Christmas Eve to help any suffering creature.” 

In a few minutes Miss Abby had a little basket ready, 
and a can of milk, and an empty box with an old piece 
of blanket in it. 

" Come back and tell me about the little family when 
they are fed,” she said, as Horace went out of the shop. 

It took him but a few minutes to reach the old house 
around the corner. When he entered it, the dog ran to 
meet him and jumped up on him, whimpering. She was 
trying to tell him, in the only way she knew, how cold 
and hungry and lonesome she felt. 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


150 

Horace lighted a candle that he had brought, and 
opened the basket and got a bowl, which he filled with 
warm milk. He broke up pieces of bread to put into it. 
He set it down before the eager little dog, who could 
hardly wait to get her nose into the bowl, and who ate 
as if she were starving. 

While she was eating, Horace put the box in the 
corner of the room, and put the puppies into it upon 
the warm blanket. He filled the bowl a second time for 
the mother, and she ate all he gave her and cleaned 
out the dish with her tongue. Then she ran to the 
box, and wagging her tail and looking gratefully at 
Horace, she jumped in and lay down beside her cold 
babies. 

Horace looked around the room. To his surprise it was 
not empty. An old stove, a broken table, and two wooden 
chairs were there. A few wooden boxes were piled up in 
one corner, and Horace thought it would be nice to make 
a fire in the old stove. 

" If I could borrow a blanket of Miss Abby, I could 
spend the night here,” he thought. Already he loved the 
dog and her puppies, and he wanted to stay and protect 
them. " I will go and ask Miss Abby,” he said to him- 
self, and he hurried to the bakeshop. 

Miss Abby, after thinking it over, said: " I think the 
owner would be glad to let you stay there to-night, and 
I will speak to the policeman on the beat. I will lend 


A CHRISTMAS PARTY 


15 I 

you blankets and a pillow, but you must sweep up the 
floor first. Here is a broom and a safety lamp that will 
burn all the evening.” 

" How good you are to me, dear Miss Abby,” said 
Horace. " If I could have my sisters with me this 
evening, how happy I should be ! ” 

" Perhaps you can have them to-morrow if you stay 
there. You can buy a basket of coal and a bundle of 
wood and make a fire for yourself.” 

Horace swept the room clean, brushed the stove, made 
a fire, filled an old teakettle with water, and looked 
after his little family in the box. Miss Abby ran over to 
visit him and found him sitting on the floor watching the 
little dog, who was fast asleep with her puppies in their 
snug bed. 

" This is a jolly Christmas Eve, thanks to Santa Claus. 
I have named the dog Santa, and she answers to the 
name already. She is remarkably bright,” said Horace, 
proudly. 

" You ought to be happy, Horace,” said Miss Abby, 
" for you have saved the dog and her puppies from 
dying.” 

" Yes, I am happy, but I shall be happier to-morrow if 
I can get my sisters here and have a Christmas party. 
We won’t have to buy Santa a collar because she has 
one on,” said Horace. " Why, it has a name on it! It 
was so dark that I did n’t see it before,” 


152 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


Miss Abby held the lamp and Horace read the name 
and address. Miss Abby said: " Read it again. Is it 
really Miss Waite, 17 Blossom Road?” 

"It really is,” said Horace. 

Then Miss Abby took the little dog in her arms and 
looked at her earnestly. "It is Fairy — Miss Waite’s 
Fairy. How thankful she will be. I don’t understand 
how Fairy could have been lost. We must send word 
to Miss Waite to-night, Horace. She had to go away for 
two or three weeks where she could not take Fairy, and 
I know that she felt uneasy about leaving her. She was 
to come home to-day and will be very anxious when she 
finds that Fairy is gone.” 

" I will go and tell her, then,” said Horace, sadly. " I 
suppose I could n’t have kept her, so I am glad that she 
has such a fine home.” 

Miss Waite had just got home and was sitting with 
her hat on, trying to think what she could do to recover 
her lost dog. She was very unhappy and could not rest 
after she was told that Fairy could not be found. 

" Telephone to all the papers,” she said to her maid. 
" Do anything that will bring her back. I am afraid I 
shall never see her again. She would die if left out in 
the cold or illtreated in any way.” 

" There is the doorbell,” said the maid, and she hur- 
ried out of the room. She came back very quickly. 


A CHRISTMAS PARTY 


153 


" Here is a boy to see you,” she said, " and he is sure he 
has found Fairy.” 

When Miss Waite could speak, she said to the boy: 
" How do you know it is my little Fairy? Are you sure? 
Where is she ? I will go with you at once and see if it is 
my dog.” 

" I am sure it is, Miss Waite, for Miss Abby and I 
read the name on the collar. Besides, Miss Abby has 
often seen her with you.” 

" Do you mean Miss Abby Graham who keeps a 
bakeshop ? Did she send you ? Then I am sure it is all 
right.” 

On the way, in the carriage, Miss Waite asked Horace 
to tell her everything he could about finding Fairy and 
her puppies. When she entered the room that Horace 
had tried to make cheerful, there was a joyful meeting 
between Fairy and her mistress. Then Fairy showed 
her puppies with great pride. 

Miss Abby was there, and she told Miss Waite the 
whole story about Horace and how he had tried to make 
Fairy and her puppies comfortable. 

Miss Waite turned to Horace and said: " You must 
finish your Christmas Eve with Fairy and me. .You must 
spend the night at my home. You can carry the puppies 
to the carriage, and I will take Fairy. To-morrow I will 
send for your sisters and try to give you all the best and 
happiest Christmas that you ever had. You must come, 


154 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


too, Miss Abby, and help us celebrate the day. This 
boy must be kind to all of God’s creatures, or he would 
not have stopped in the snowstorm to rescue my poor 
little Fairy.” 

The delightful Christmas Day was soon over, but 
Horace and his sisters had good reason to remember 
it, for their lives became much brighter and happier 
through Miss Waite’s friendship. 


THE ADVENTURES OF KITTY GRAY 


T^^HEN Mrs. Tyler and her family went to the beach 
* » for the summer, the first thing that Betty Tyler 
begged for was a kitten to play with. 

Mrs. Tyler was not fond of kittens, but she was fond 
of her little Betty ; so when a playmate brought Betty a 
present of a white kitten with a gray back and one gray 
ear, it was allowed to stay. 

Betty was not a very strong little girl. She could not 
romp all day as most of her friends were able to do, so 
the kitten was a great deal of company. Often she 
laughed at Kitty Gray’s frolics, when she might have 
been very lonely without her. 

The summer passed away rapidly. As the cool days 
came, Mrs. Tyler said that they must get ready to go 
back to their city home. Betty gathered all her books 
and playthings, and Hannah, the maid, packed them in 
a little trunk. 

" What can we carry Kitty Gray in ? ” Betty asked 
her mother. " She has grown so large that we shall need 
a big basket for her.” 

Her mother answered, " Don’t bother me now about 
Kitty ; I am busy.” 

155 


156 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


The day came for the journey home. They had to hire 
a wagon to go to the train, and after an hour’s ride in the 
cars, they would reach the city where their cozy home was. 

The train was an early one, and the family all hurried 
to get ready. Mr. Tyler kept calling that the wagon was 
waiting and that they would lose the train. 

" O mother! ” cried Betty, " you or Hannah must find 
me a basket for my kitten. I can’t leave her behind.” 

" You mustn’t bother me now,” said Mrs. Tyler. " I 
have n’t time to look for a basket.” 

Betty then called to Robert, but he had started with 
his dog Hero. The dog was pulling hard at his leash, 
and Robert had to run to keep up with him. 

" Come, come,” called Mr. Tyler, " you will lose the 
train.” 

" Hurry up, Betty,” said Mrs. Tyler. "We can’t stop 
for your kitty now. She will be all right for a few days. 
She can get under the house and can find enough to 
eat.” 

" But, mamma, I want Kitty Gray so much. It seems 
cruel to leave her here alone. See, she is crying after me 
now,” said Betty, almost crying herself. 

"You must come, Betty. I will send Robert down 
after her in a few days.” 

So the family drove away and left poor Kitty Gray 
behind. She ran a little way after the wagon, crying pite- 
ously ; then she went back to the empty house. She tried 


THE ADVENTURES OF KITTY GRAY 


157 



to jump up on the kitchen window, but the shutters were 
closed and there was no resting place for her little feet. 

She went to the back door and cried, and when no one 
let her in, she went to the front door and cried. So she 
went around 
the house all 
day, crying 
and begging 
to get in, but 
there was no 
one to hear 
her. 

At night 
a cold rain 
came on and 
the lonesome, 
hungry kit- 
ten crawled 
under the 
house, trem- 
bling with 

cold and fright. Now and then she crept to one of 
the doors, hoping that some one would open it. 

Mrs. Tyler slept comfortably all night and never 
thought of Kitty Gray, but kind-hearted little Betty 
heard the rain, and cried as she thought of her little 
companion looking for food and shelter. 


Kitty Gray 


i5» 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


Days went by and Mrs. Tyler did not send for Kitty 
Gray. Betty asked her about it often, and she promised 
to send as soon as Robert had a holiday. 

When Betty saw Hero stretch himself before the open 
fire after a good supper, she wondered where Kitty Gray 
got her supper. At night when the wind blew, she could 
not get to sleep for a long time. She could not forget 
her kitten crying about an empty house. 

One night when her father came in, she heard him say, 
" It has begun to snow.” 

" What is the matter with Betty?” Mr. Tyler asked 
his wife, as Betty left the room. " She has not seemed 
like herself since we came home. She looks too pale and 
sober for a little girl. Have n’t you noticed it ? ” 

" I have been so busy that I haven’t thought about it,” 
answered Mrs. Tyler. 

" She cries sometimes nights,” said Robert. " Stormy 
nights I have heard her cry, and last night I heard her 
say,. * Oh, my poor, poor kitty ! ’ ” 

" Have n’t you sent for that cat yet ?” asked Mr. Tyler. 
" I thought you would attend to it, or I would have sent 
for her myself. The poor thing is probably dead by this 
time, and Betty is grieving herself sick.” 

" I meant to send,” said Mrs. Tyler, "but there hasn’t 
been any good chance.” 

"I will go to-morrow myself,” said Mr. Tyler. "If she 
is alive now, she can’t live long in this snow.” 


THE ADVENTURES OF KITTY GRAY 159 

" I will go with you,” said Mrs. Tyler. " I want a few 
things that I left there. Y ou will find Kitty Gray all right. 
Cats that are left at the beach go to that boarding house 
near the station. That is kept open all winter.” 

" How many cats do you suppose the man who lives 
there wants to take care of?” Mr. Tyler remarked. 
Before his wife could answer, Betty came into the room. 

" Coasting to-morrow ! ” said her brother. 

Betty did not look at him. " I think I will go to bed,” 
she said, and she looked very unhappy. 

" Betty,” said her father, " your mother and I are going 
to the cottage to-morrow, and we hope to bring back 
Kitty Gray.” 

Betty’s face brightened. " O papa, I am so glad, so 
very glad! Now I won’t worry any more, for to-morrow 
night I shall have her with me. Dear Kitty Gray, I have 
missed her all this time, and I have been so worried. 

It was about noon when Mr. and Mrs. Tyler left the 
train and went to the boarding house near the station. 
Mrs. Tyler said to the man in charge, " We came for our 
cat. I meant to come or send before, but I have been 
very busy. Has she been here with you ? ” 

"No, she hasn’t been here,” answered Mr. Graves, 
rather crossly. "A lot of families who keep cats or kittens 
here all summer go off and leave them to starve and 
freeze when winter comes. I can’t take care of them all.” 


i6o 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


“ Do you remember seeing a small gray and white cat 
around anywhere?” Mrs. Tyler asked. 

" I saw one early this morning in the snow. It was 
starved or frozen — both, I guess, for it was dead,” he 



answered. 

Tears came into Mrs. Tyler’s eyes. "Oh, I hope it 
was n’t ours. Please harness your horse and drive us to 

our cottage 
as fast as 
you can.” 

As they 
drove along 
the beach 
road, they 
passed sev- 
eral closed 
cottages; in 
front of one 
of these a 
brave little 

black cat was pushing her way through the snow, trying 
to reach the door of her desolate home. 

" I have been trying to catch that cat ever since the 
family left, but she is so frightened that I can’t get near 
her. She is pretty weak though now. I will try again,” 
said Mr. Graves. 

Mr. and Mrs. Tyler soon reached their own cottage 


A Deserted Cat 


THE ADVENTURES OF KITTY GRAY 161 

and got out. No tracks of feet were to be seen in the 
snow. " O dear! I am afraid that she is dead,” said 
Mrs. Tyler. " How can we tell Betty ! ” 

They went to the front door and unlocked it. As they 
opened it, Mr. Tyler said, " Hark! I thought I heard a 
kitten mewing.” 

They both listened and heard a weak, pitiful cry. 
They stooped down to look under the porch and called, 
" Kitty, kitty.” 

A very thin cat came 
slowly crawling out and 
looked up into their faces. 

She opened her mouth to 
cry, but she was so weak 
that she made no sound. 

• " This poor, wretched 
cat must be Kitty Gray,” 
said Mrs. Tyler, "and she 
is nearly starved. Oh, can’t we do something for her 
quick? If she dies, I shall never forget her pitiful face.” 

Mr. Graves looked under the porch and said, "There 
are some little kittens under here.” 

He put his arm under the porch and took out five 
kittens. Two were dead, and the others were just alive. 
The poor mother had tried to make a soft bed for them 
on some newspapers and to keep them warm with her 
thin little body. 



Poor Kitty Gray 


1 62 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


Mrs. Tyler took up the little mother and held her 
under her coat. " Let us go right back to your house, 
Mr. Graves, and get some warm milk. Mr. Tyler will 
carry the kittens, and we will hurry,” she said. 

When they reached the house, they heated a little milk 
and fed Kitty Gray with a teaspoon until she could lap 
a little. Then they fed the three little ones. They 
stayed until afternoon, and fed Kitty Gray a little at a 
time until she could stand. 

It was six o’clock and dark when Betty heard her 
father and mother. She had been watching for them 
all the afternoon. When the door opened, Betty flew to 
the basket that her father was carrying very carefully. 

"Wait, Betty — wait, dear. Be careful. Kitty Gray has 
some baby kittens for you, but you must not touch them 
to-night.” 

He lifted the warm covering. Kitty Gray looked up 
and mewed faintly. She knew her little mistress and 
began to purr. Betty’s tears fell on the little heads in 
the basket, and she could not speak. They made Kitty 
Gray a bed in the kitchen, and all the evening Betty 
watched over the little family. The little mother was 
so happy that she hardly stopped singing until they 
left her. 

In the morning Kitty Gray was much stronger and the 
kittens were more lively, but it was a long time before 


THE ADVENTURES OF KITTY GRAY 163 

Kitty Gray was sleek and plump again, though she had 
the best of care. 

" I have learned a lesson that I shall never forget,” said 
Mrs. Tyler. " I did not realize how cruel it is to desert 
cats. Robert and I are going to the beach next Saturday 
to see if we can get that poor cat we saw there or find 
any others. If I tell everybody how our Kitty Gray suf- 
fered from hunger and cold, it may keep others from 
leaving cats behind them when they move from one place 
to another.” 


A CHRISTMAS STABLE 



I T is said that at midnight on Christmas Eve the gift 
of speech is given to all animals in stables, in memory 
of the Christ-child who was born in a stable. 

One Christmas Eve, at the midnight hour, a number 
of animals were taking their rest in a large barn near the 

old town of 
Dedham. As 
the bells in 
the village a 
mile away 
chimed out 
the hour of 
twelve, a big 
black horse, 
called Black 
Beauty, got 
up from her 


Entering the Home of Rest 


comfortable 
bed of straw 

and called to a young filly in the next stall. It was plain 
to see that they were mother and daughter, for they 
looked so much alike. 

164 


A CHRISTMAS STABLE 


165 



"Wake up, Fanny. We can talk to each other now 
and you ought to know your mothers history.” 

Fanny gave a sleepy whinny and got up, looking over 
the gate of her box stall at her mother, who said : " I 
was born in the country on a large farm, and for two 
happy years I 
pranced and 
rolled about 
in a pasture. 

It was hard 
to leave this 
happy home, 
to be sold to 
a cruel horse 
trainer. He 
forced a sharp 
bit into my 
tender mouth 
and whipped 

me because I Black Beauty and Little Fanny 

hated it. He 

tied heavy weights to me and made me drag them. He 
was always beating me, until I dreaded the sight of him. 

" After I was trained to go in harness, I was sold again, 
and this time to a kind master. I lived with him five 
happy years, and then he had to sell me. I was put to work 
in an express wagon, but it was too hard for me, and I got 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


1 66 

lame. My foot hurt me so much that I could hardly walk, 
so my cruel master tried whipping me to cure me of what 
he called laziness. 

" I grew worse, and I was put into an auction room, 
where my mouth was pulled open to show my teeth, and 
where I was made to trot as fast as I could go. A man 
bought me to drive in another express wagon. When I 
was all tired out at night, he put me into a stall too 
narrow to lie down in. I had neither bed nor blanket, 
and I had to stand all night. Often I had no water, and 
my oats were husks, and the hay musty. I grew thin and 
cross and was tired all the time. I limped worse than ever, 
so that I was sent to be sold in auction again. 

" This time a kind man bought me out of pity, for he saw 
that I was not able to work. Then I had the good fortune 
to be sent here for a vacation, and here you were born. 

" After twelve happy weeks my master who sent me here 
to this Home of Rest came one day and took me back to 
the city to work. The streets were so hard and slippery 
that my lameness returned, and one day I fell. I heard 
my master say that he must sell me, and I trembled with 
fear of what might come to me, but the kind people where 
I had my vacation bought me. Now my foot is well. I 
am useful here and expect to end my days in this good 
Home of Rest.” 

A loud whinny was heard, and Old Huckleberry said: 
" I am the oldest horse here. I have a story to tell, too, 


A CHRISTMAS STABLE 1 67 

but it is not very exciting. I worked twenty years for 
one mistress. My greatest trouble was when she hired 
boys to drive me, for they hurried me along the road, 
whip in hand, no matter how tired or stiff I felt. She 
often groomed me herself, and fed me and gave me fresh 
water.” 

" If you 
had such a 
good home, 
what are you 
doing here? ” 
asked Fanny 
the filly. 

" I came 
here because 
my mistress 
felt that I 
was too old 

to work, and she loved me so much that she would not 
sell me. I felt homesick here at first, and I could n’t eat, 
but I am contented and happy now.” 

" I should say so,” said Robin, a handsome horse in 
an opposite stall. " I never saw an old horse kick up the 
way you do, nor scamper across a field more lively to get 
the apples first that fall from that tree over the fence.” 

" Oh, I am all right,” said Old Huckleberry, " and I 
expect to be lively a long time. I suppose you have a 



Robin 


1 68 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


story to tell, Robin. I believe you have traveled in great 
style. How came you here ? ” 

" I don’t like to talk about it,” said Robin. " I was in- 
jured by a groom who took me out at night when my 
owner thought I was safe in my stall. He rode me and 



Billy 

drove me so hard that one night I fell, and I shall never 
get over the injury I received. My owner was so sorry 
for me that she sent me to this Home of Rest. I like 
to run and roll in the paddock, but I am not able to 
work. That is my story.” 

" My name used to be Billy,” said a thin white horse, 
who was lying down in his stall, "but it is years since 
any one called me by my name. I am old now and stiff 



A CHRISTMAS STABLE 


169 



and sore. One morning last week I could not get 
up ; my stall was so narrow that I was cramped for 
room when I lay down, and I had to lie on the hard 
floor. My master kicked me to make me get up, and 
I tried to get up on my feet, because his heavy boot 
hurt me, but 
he had to 
get another 
man to help 
pull me up. 

He fed me 
better for a 
few days and 
even rubbed 
my legs, and 
that meant 
that he was 
going to sell 
me. I was 

glad, for I knew that I could not get a worse master. 

" He was leading me through the street when a man 
stopped him, and after some talking, he gave my master 
some money and brought me here. 

" How I enjoy the rest and food, the soft bedding and 
kind words ! Are you sure they won’t send me away ? ” 

" Sure,” said all the horses, and poor Billy put his 
head down and stretched himself out on his side to rest. 


Prince 



170 FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 

" They call me Prince,” said a chestnut horse. " I am 
going back to work when I am rested. I am driven in a 
cab, and I am willing to work, for I have a kind master, 
who is just as good to me as he can be. I fell and hurt 
my knee on the slippery streets, and my master said that 
it was a good time to give me a vacation, so I came here, 
and I am having a fine rest.” 

" My master is kind, too,” said another horse, " and I 
am not in need of rest, for my work is light. One morn- 
ing I waited and waited 
for my master, and I 
whinnied for my break- 
fast, but he did n’t come. 
It was almost night be- 
fore any one fed me or 
gave me a drink, and I 
was very hungry and 
thirsty. The next morn- 
ing I was brought here, and I heard them say that my 
master was ill and had been carried to the hospital, so 
there was no one to take care of me. I ’ve been here two 
weeks, rolling and running like a colt, but I hope to see 
my master again soon, for he was always good to me. He 
called me his best friend, and I know that he loved me.” 

" It seems to me,” said a voice in the hayloft, "that 
you horses forget that there are dogs in the world. What 
would you all do if you did not have me to protect you ? 



Good Old Bobs 


A CHRISTMAS STABLE 171 

No one dares to come near this stable at night because 
I am the ' good old Bobs ’ that guards the whole place 
through the day.” 

" I help,” said Fido the spaniel. 

" I keep out the rats,” said Pat the terrier. 

" We are all dogs who have come here to be useful,” 
said Fluffy. 

" I should 
like to know 
of what use 
you and Fido 
are,” said old 
Bobs, " rac- 
ing around 
like mad, and 
scaring the 
birds.” 

" Y es, they 
do indeed,” 
piped a little 
voice high up 

in the rafters, where sparrows and pigeons were snugly 
tucked away. 

" The cats would trouble you more than we do,” said 
Fido, " only they are too fat and lazy to run around as 
we dogs do. The mistress loves us and gives us lumps 
of sugar sometimes.” 



I HELP,” SAID ElDO 


72 


FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 


" She gives me two lumps because I stand up for it,” 
said Fluffy. 

"Is that what you call being useful ? ” said old Bobs, 
as he regarded Fluffy with an expression of scorn. 

"We are all going to have lots of sugar to-morrow, 

because it ’s Christ- 
mas,” the filly re- 
marked cheerfully. 

"And apples, 
and carrots,” said 
Robin. 

" And crumbs, 
and seeds, and 
corn,” said the 
pigeons. 

" And nuts,” 
added the little 
squirrel, who had a warm place under the floor. 

" Oh, are you there ? ” said Fido. " I ’ll give you a fine 
chase to-morrow for fun.” 

" Not if the missie sees you,” answered the squirrel. 

" Hush ! ” said Black Beauty, " Christmas means peace. 
That means that no one must be angry, or quarrel, or 
hurt any one else. It means kindness and love.” 

Just then the clocks struck one, the hour of speech 
was over, and all the animals in the stable at the Home 
of Rest settled down to sleep again. 




ANNOUNCEMENTS 





























• ■ 




















LONG’S WOOD FOLK SERIES 

ILLUSTRATED BY CHARLES COPELAND 

WAYS OF WOOD FOLK 

50 cents 

This delightful work tells of the ways of the commoner wook folk, such as the crow, 
the rabbit, the wild duck ; and also gives glimpses of the bear, the beaver, and the moose. 

WILDERNESS WAYS 

45 cents 

The hidden life of the wilderness is here presented by sketches and stories gathered, 
not from books or hearsay, but from the author’s personal contact with wild things of 
every description. 

SECRETS OF THE WOODS 

50 cents 

This is another chapter in the shy, wild life of the fields and woods, of Little Toohkees, 
the wood mouse that dies of fright in the author’s hand ; the mother otter, Keeonekh, 
teaching her little ones to swim ; and the little red squirrel with his many curious habits. 

WOOD FOLK AT SCHOOL 

50 cents 

The title suggests the central thought about which the author has grouped some of his 
most fascinating animal studies. To him, “ the summer wilderness is one vast school- 
room in which a multitude of wise, patient mothers are teaching their little ones the 
things they must know in order to hold their place in the world and escape unharmed 
from a hundred dangers. 

A LITTLE BROTHER TO THE BEAR 

50 cents 

Mooweesuk the Coon is called the bear’s little brother by both Indians and naturalists, 
because of the many ways in which he resembles the “ big prowler in the black coat.” 
An absorbing chapter on the coon’s secret habits begins this volume. It is followed by 
stories about the woodcock, the wildcat, the toad, and many other animals. 

NORTHERN TRAILS 

BOOK I. 45 cents 
BOOK II. 45 cents 

“ Northern Trails ” is a wonderfully interesting study of new animals in a new lank 
— the mossy barren grounds of Labrador and Newfoundland. 

The story of Wayeeses the Great White Wolf, which comprises Book I, is pronounced 
by an educated ranchman, who has spent thirty years in a wolf country, to be “ the best 
and the truest wolf story ever written.” 

Book II includes studies of the wild goose, fishes, whale, polar bear, and a multitude 
of smaller birds and animals, and ends with a fascinating story of a salmon’s life. 


13 


GINN & COMPANY Publishers 


“ONCE UPON A TIME” SERIES 

i6mo, cloth, 40 cents per volume 

T HIS series is made up of child classics in various literatures, 
picturing life in strange lands with that free and vivid play of 
fancy that little folks love. New books will be added to the series from 
time to time. 

LISBETH LONGFROCK 

By HANS AANRUD 

This idyl tells of the life of a little peasant girl on a Norwegian farm and of 
the pleasant times she has with her two boy comrades and her animal friends. 

IN THE REIGN OF COYOTE 

By KATHERINE CHANDLER 

The picturesque Indian folklore of the Pacific coast — an Indian "Uncle 
Remus.” 

PINOCCHIO, THE ADVENTURES OF A MARIONETTE 

By C. COLLODI 

This Italian "Alice in Wonderland” is full of the drolleries that delight 
children. It has long been a favorite in Italy. 

PINOCCHIO IN AFRICA 

By E. CHERUBINI 

Pinocchio’s further adventures c'arry him to Africa, where his escapades are 
as diverting as in the original book. 

THE QUEST OF THE FOUR-LEAVED CLOVER 

By EDOUARD LABOULAYE 

A tale of the Arabian desert that gives a vivid and attractive picture of 
Bedouin life among the tents and city life in the bazaars. 

MONI THE GOAT BOY 

By JOHANNA SPYRI 

A collection of three stories of life in the Swiss mountains by the author of 
" Heidi.” These tales like the older favorite are full of local color and whole- 
some out-of-door work and play. 

HEIMATLOS 

By JOHANNA SPYRI 

Two stories, one of an orphan boy and the other of a little orphan girl, and of 
how each finds a happy home. 

MERRIE ENGLAND 

By GRACE GREENWOOD 

Tales of Robin Hood, Guy of Warwick, and other heroes dear to the child’s 
heart. 


12 c 

GINN AND COMPANY Publishers. 


THE ADVENTURES OF GRILLO 


OR THE CRICKET WHO WOULD BE KING 


By Ernest Candeze. Translated from the Italian version by M. Louise Baum. 


With illustrations after Renard 


l2mo, cloth, 266 pages, 45 cents 



HE actors in this enthralling story of insect life are ants, 


A crickets, spiders, wasps, glowworms, and other interesting 
creatures that Grillo, the field cricket, meets in his adventurous 
travels through his miniature world. As told by himself, these 
adventures are full of a quaint realism that is sure to appeal to 
children. Among other things he is cast away on a desert lily- 
pad, like a second Robinson Crusoe, and he finds his man 
Friday in the form of a similarly fated ant. 

Ernest Candeze, the author, a celebrated Belgian entomologist, 
has woven the odd and interesting truths of insect life into his 
story in such a way as to awaken the child’s curiosity and lead 
him in a further search for knowledge of the natural life about 
him. The illustrations, drawn after Renard, in which the cricket’s 
tall silk hat and fiddle sound a characteristic note, will prove 
an added delight to the text. 

The story has been immensely popular with the children of 
Europe and has been translated into several languages. The 
present translation is from an Italian version of the original, 
and admirably preserves the Italian atmosphere with its absurdi- 
ties of insect dignity and insect moralizing. The translator has 
produced a work well worthy of ranking as a child classic. 


GINN AND COMPANY Publishers 


THE OPEN ROAD LIBRARY 

Compiled and edited by MARION FLORENCE LANSING 


Seven volumes, each volume i6mo, red cloth, illustrated, 35 cents 


RHYMES AND STORIES. The charm of this volume lies not alone 
in the deeds of Bo-Peep, Miss Muffet, Little Red Riding Hood, Old 
Mother Hubbard, and others, but also in their portraits, so correctly 
drawn by Mr. Charles Copeland that they are unmistakable. 

QUAINT OLD STORIES. These twenty-nine tales, gathered from 
English, Danish, Greek, and Oriental folk literature and written in 
dramatic form suitable for either reading or dramatization in schools, 
are by turns instructive, merry, and full of surprise. 

FAIRY TALES. Volumes I and II. In these two books twenty-eight 
of the great fairy tales of the world are collected, including Per- 
rault, Andersen, Grimm, and others of equal magic. 

TALES OF OLD ENGLAND groups together such stories as are dis- 
tinctively English in their origin and setting. Childe Rowland, Jack 
the Giant Killer, Dick Whittington, Robin Goodfellow, King Alfred 
and the Shepherd, and King John and the Abbot walk the streets of 
London town or haunt the fields and forests of mythical England. 

LIFE IN THE GREENWOOD contains the loved stories of Robin 
Hood, and those tales which have the forest for their setting. 
From the many adventures of Robin and his band those have been 
chosen which best picture the greenwood life. 

PAGE, ESQUIRE, AND KNIGHT. The romantic and idealistic side 
of chivalry during the ten centuries of its development is here 
pictured in a selected group of tales from Malory, Froissart, Ten- 
nyson, and from chronicles, lays, and legends. The three degrees 
of knighthood are simply set forth, with the story of their develop- 
ment, their lofty requirements, and the adventurous service ii^to 
which they led their members. ^ 

26K 

GINN AND COMPANY Publishers 




































































































































































































































































































































































































V 


* o ^ * 

’ * AN 4 




* ^ '*^y °° 



'' 'O -O . . 

. t » 6 ^ ^ 

6* •*- <* 


* 

(A 

O 

* 4 O . ° x , 

> O/ X> v» 0 

<aj CV # rs 

.... ' * " ° ° ^° 



"*• *° v 

f° * • < ’ • 

4 ? „ '«*£'. ^ , V 

*rfy$f/h° ^ <& ♦ ot*£zV". v> 

.A\\SS/A° 

♦ ^ '\ \WMW> *!?%. 

* ,<y 4+ • 4 . *v •& 

. -- '0 . X - A , s 

^ ^ .U». ^ ,A> r o W o * * • 

c -- % 




> <* C -7 y y r //l\) N 

<v * r * *> v s « 

* %<** /< 



*° 4^ ^ °o 





* Tx „ C * 

„ 4 0 * u^a\ » /-« ’ /g^y gjfg> * 0 • 

,.„ <** . °^ ^'- 0 ° A°° 

V' A %•/ .•*** *■ * 





'V '••*• .<V <. ^TVt* .CT ^o • 

O .1*^ * rSSN\ ^ 

' -H. <V .' 



❖ V ”V 


O • A 


, O N O ^ 

' ♦cf^Ty^ ^ 
k N a < $sS\\\n'%. ^ y. 

w ^ 




> 4 

O v „ t . O^ <X , \ r s • ♦ '•/* ’ B "°' f u * ' t ■• * * 

■ .iw*%^ * v .».\/^ ^.4i 

. .^ V *V - ^1^ • c,?^r. o 

Jy y> *o\i* <\ + *??W*r' ^ 

■$■ , , _ ^ A V V <\x '*.$ s X G o * c 

. * u *+ O^ «^- V 0 o"a \P -,V l / /, *^> 

’ r O f» *P ^ VJ t 

10 .y a n ' 0 

• ^u • ■* ^o V ° 

• « ^ * 


° W • 
,/ #*\ t \ 


# ( 


* TLk 
’ 


L > v<N w> 


r ^ - 

”. ++ J :. 


Nr -Q^ ^ V) fu^j|\\N^C\ WO V 

/ *r o„ •’> 1 ^.' o 5 * 

% ‘-* 0 ’ A° 

*_ <%,. .,-4 **^s®k''. c ^y ^»te 


f 0 ' V ‘^-\# ( 


* # 


;* <£* '\, \ 

' .&* ^b ' 




O ♦ A 


^°V V 


* A o 

> 4 , > ^ v» 


t 

> 


• > o ^^nyj 

nftAvRj ® 
yull^^^ r 

k 

^» ° "v 

■rfWoA ^ 

^\^!r • 

Sw ^ 

vv • ^ 

* 


A 


v/> A 





JF 


O' - o ♦ t - A 

■ • , V VJ> 

O /Tv 

\ *6 / • 

° >° •%. v 

» o ’ A 0 ^ *•<’*’ /{?■ 

0 *!*.?* *> V s # -VL'~ O 


C ^ .< V * 

° *.<❖ : 

‘ #'*%. °o 

*» * 



*i o, • 

l* •& <" 





<<r 

*o ^ ° * 


o. ~*oVo 9 <0 




>° *° ^ 
• 0 



A 



<b ° 

Y V*, ° 



9 V • » • •- 


% A C° 'jfiSzC, °o vP „ 

:YM^\ «fe V * o 



M o 


& , O " o ^ 


a. 






cv ^ 

°^ * 0 - 0 


o \0 V*. 1 



6°* 



a » 0 


<A 


\> S 5 **'., 'C* ,<V * » • O* T > <- 

% / -*«fc W • 

• •/% \lp!‘ /\ •. 

A <* **t;.' .o r vs, . 

1 * * ^O *(S> c 0 N ° * <£ CV • 1 9 6 * ^O jJv o 0 N a + 

V«^§$W* v A C u *W^>% ° V 

^ A o «* ^ ^ \ A o 



0> 'o • A * A 



: 


<\ <* 






♦ -K # 



o V 



l M 0 


- 0 V * 1 • •- "> 

A* ^ ^ ♦ 





C ) ^'^fV ° 

" ^ °. 



° 

'* A° %'•>'• 

* CV .0 »•*•» *> \ 

• ^ A* .*aW- ^ .A 


: > V- V. 


O % l 



w 


^ ° 5 > 





c v - e 


5°^ 



A o ° " ° •» ^ 

A •°-r-S^\ : #> ^ 


* » 


' ^ " T A 





V ^ 




0 M ° 



'* % A » 


if "*y. ^ * 

. ^*CT 

* < O^ 

v <y <* ^ 

^ *TTn * ’ O,^ 0c ^ "* « Vo ° 

v . s • • , >k 



‘ & <f \ 

A ^ * 



V 



* # 





^ A N o 



o 1 ^ 


'o * A * A 


;* ^ *+ 


t > « 


* ^ >. 


c v e 



'’o# 


.O 



D0025b0 c nt.7 




